Asian Games: Ancy Sojan wins long jump silver, Shaili Singh finishes fourth

Nagoya, Sep 27 (IANS) India’s Ancy Sojan won the women’s long jump silver medal at the Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 on Sunday after China’s Huang Yingying produced a 6.55m effort with her final jump to edge the Indian by two centimetres in a dramatic finish at the Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium. Shaili Singh, who had remained in medal contention for much of the competition, finished fourth.
 

Ancy had put herself in the gold-medal position right from her opening attempt, clearing 6.49m. Her second jump was ruled a foul, but the opening effort was enough to keep her at the top as the competition progressed.

Shaili began with 6.25m before improving to 6.34m in her second attempt. She repeated that distance with her third jump and remained within striking distance of the medals as the field narrowed to the top eight after three rounds.

The battle at the top became increasingly tight in the fourth round. Shaili registered 6.41m after requesting that her jump be checked, moving into third place. Ancy, meanwhile, could only manage 6.31m with her fourth attempt but retained the lead with her earlier 6.49m.

The fifth round transformed the contest again. Huang matched Ancy’s 6.49m, putting the two level at the top. Ancy responded immediately, producing a 6.53m jump to reclaim the lead and move within one attempt of gold.

But the Chinese athlete had the final say.

Huang saved her best for the last attempt, jumping 6.55m to move two centimetres ahead of Ancy. The Indian’s final effort measured 6.49m, leaving her with silver despite having occupied the gold-medal position for much of the competition.

Shaili was also denied a podium finish in the closing stages. Having moved into third with her 6.41m fourth-round effort and improved to 6.42m in the fifth, she was overtaken by China’s Mengyi Tan, who produced a 6.46m final jump. Shaili therefore ended the competition fourth with 6.42m.

The result gave India silver in an event in which the country had previously won only one women’s long jump gold at the Asian Games, through Anju Bobby George in 2002.

For Ancy, the medal adds another major result to a breakthrough 2026 season in which she produced a national record of 6.88m at the World Athletics Continental Tour event in Bhubaneswar.

--IANS

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