During the third day of the Asian Athletics Championships 2023 in Bangkok, Thailand (Friday, 14 July), 19-year-old Shaili Singh won a silver medal in the women’s long jump. It was the first silver medal for India in the 25th Asian Athletics Championships.
In the women’s long jump, Shaili ended just behind Japanese Sumire Hata. The Japanese had her best jump of the event with 6.97m, while Shaili’s highest covered distance was 6.54m.
After her incredible opening jump of 6.54m, Shaili’s next attempts covered 6.22m, 6.22m, 6.28m, 6.09m and 6.02m respectively. Though the youngster was leading in the midway of that event, Hata replaced the Indian on the leaderboard from the fourth round (6.74m) and only strengthened her spot in the final round with her best jump of the day (6.97m).
On the other hand, Zhong Jiawei of China (6.46m) secured the third position in that event to seal a bronze medal for her country.
Another Indian, the 22-year-old Ancy Sojan closely missed the bronze medal as her best jump was 6.41m to secure fourth place in that event.
Who is Shaili Singh?
Talented youngster Shaili has already put a special mark on her country. The National Championships 2021 winner won a silver medal in the World U20 Championships 2021.
In the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships 2023, which Nur-Sultan (Kazakhstan) hosted last February, Shaili finished in the fifth position in the women’s long jump (6.27m).
Shaili was trained by the legendary Indian long-jumper Anju Bobby George and her husband, the Dronacharya Award winner Robert Bobby George. Both Anju and Robert have highly praised Shaili in the media.
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