Teenaged Shaili Singh showed yet another glimpse of her brimming potential by winning her first National Open athletics gold with a leap of 6.41m in women’s long jump at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium here on Wednesday.
On the final day of the competition, the 18-year-old, who made waves by securing the long jump silver at the World Athletics U20 Championships in 2021, beat many a seasoned jumper, including L. Sruthilekshmi (silver, 6.22m) and Nayana James (bronze, 6.22m), both of whom are nearly a decade older.
Shaili, watched on by the legendary Anju Bobby George, and her coach Robert Bobby George, started with a tone-setting 6.25m jump. However, off the next four attempts, she couldn’t get her approach right, at times timid and at times too eager in attacking the board. But on the final jump, it all came together and she soared to the gold.
Shaili Singh. | Photo Credit: K. MURALI KUMAR
The Uttar Pradesh athlete’s best is 6.48m (Patiala, 2021), but the latest result was impressive, considering that Shaili had not competed much in the last 12 months after injuring her back and toe. She made her comeback only at the recently held National Games where she settled for silver (6.28m) behind Nayana. Wednesday was a sweet reversal.
Shaili Singh. | Photo Credit: K. MURALI KUMAR
“I’m happy that I could jump past the 6.40m mark after a long gap,” Shaili said. “When I came here, I wanted to improve my [season] best by one centimetre. But I’m very happy that I took it to 6.41m. This is my first Open Nationals and it’s a big motivation to compete with seniors.”
The results:
Men: 200m: G. Ragul Kumar (TN) 20.87s, 2. Rahul Ramesh Kadam (Mah) 20.97, 3. Abhin B. Devadiga (Kar) 21.05; 10,000m: 1. Murli Kumar Gavit (Guj) 29:50.11, 2. Sawan Barwal (Ser) 29:52.15, 3. Mohan Saini (Ser) 29:59.80; 400m hurdles: 1. T. Santhosh Kumar (Ser) 49.57, 2. K. Sathish (Ser) 50.85, 3. Jabir Madari Palliyalil (Ser) 50.94; 3000m steeplechase: 1. Balkishan (Ser) 8:51.42, 2. Prince Raj Mishra (Sikkim) 8:52.15, 3. Rohit Verma (Har) 8:52.97; Triple jump: 1. A.B. Arun (Ser) 16.37m, 2. Mohammed Salahuddin (TN) 16.34, 3. Arpinder Singh (ONGC) 16.29; Hammer: 1. Nitesh Poonia (Raj) 65.95, 2. Harvendra Singh (UP) 64.28, 3. Niraj Kumar (Ser) 62.99; 35km walk: 1. Ram Baboo (UP) 2:39:05.00s (NMR; OR: 2:46.31, Ram Baboo, 2021), 2. Eknath Sambhaji Turambekar (Rly) 2:41:58.00, 3. Chandan Singh (Ser) 2:44:24.00; 4x400m relay: 1. Railways 3:06.77, 2. Services 3:07.30, 3. Karnataka 3:08.07.
Women: 200m: 1. Archana S. Suseendran (TN) 23.43s, 2. Srabani Nanda (Odi) 23.71, 3. Chandra Lekha Anandha (Rly) 23.84; 10,000m: 1. Ankita (Rly) 34:39.05, 2. Pooja Harijan (Raj) 34:48.58, 3. Richa Bhadauriya (UP) 34:53.63; 400m hurdles: 1. R. Vithya Ramraj (Rly) 56.97, 2. Sinchal Kaveramma (Kar) 58.84, 3. Veerpal Kaur (Pun) 59.00; 3000m steeplechase: 1. Parul Chaudhary (Rly) 9:48.28, 2. Komal Chandrakant (Rly) 10:24.37, 3. Vaishnavi Vilasrao (Mah) 10:41.22; Long jump: 1. Shaili Singh (UP) 6.41m, 2. L. Sruthilekshmi (Ker) 6.22, 3. Nayana James (Ker) 6.22; Hammer: 1. K.M. Rachna (UP) 63.66, 2. Sarita R. Singh (Rly) 59.96, 3. Tanya Chaudhary (UP) 59.56m; 35km walk: 1. Payal (UP) 3:04:48.00s (NMR; OR: 3:15:17.00, Ramandeep Kaur, 2021), 2. Ramandeep Kaur (Rly) 3:10:45.00, 3. Manju Rani (Pun) 3:17:02.00; 4x400m relay: 1. Railways 3:36.72 (NMR; OR: 3:37.90, Railways, 2016), 2. Haryana 3:39.20, 3. Karnataka 3:39.56.
Best athletes: Men: Tajinderpal Singh Toor (Ser, 1162 pts); Women: Jyothi Yarraji (Rly, 1174); Team championships: Men: Services (174 pts); Women: Railways (201); Overall: Railways (297).
