Ancy Sojan takes long jump silver at Asian Games

National record holder Ancy Sojan secured the silver medal in the women's long jump event at the Asian Games with a best effort of 6.53 metres. With this finish, she becomes only the second Indian woman to claim two medals at the continental event in this discipline, following in the footsteps of Anju Bobby George.

The Final Round Drama

India missed out on a golden double podium finish after a dramatic turn of events in the sixth and final round of jumps. Up to that point, Ancy held the first-place spot while fellow Indian competitor Shaili Singh sat in third place. On the final attempt, China's Mengyi Tan leaped 6.46 metres to push Shaili out of the bronze medal position into fourth place. Moments later, Huang Y leaped 6.55 metres to snatch the gold away from Ancy. Ancy managed a jump of 6.49 metres on her final turn, settling for the silver.

Strong Campaign

Ancy led the competition early by registering a jump of 6.49 metres on her very first attempt and held the top spot until the final Chinese jump. She further improved her distance on her fifth attempt by clearing 6.53 metres. Her podium finish comes on the back of a strong domestic season where she broke Anju's 22-year-old national record by clearing 6.88 metres at the National Inter State Championships in June. Meanwhile, Shaili put up a consistent performance by recording only legal jumps and improving her distance on every single try, starting at 6.25 metres and building up to 6.42 metres before slipping to fourth place on the last attempt.