India’s Ancy Sojan Edappilly continued her impressive run at Kalinga Stadium, winning the women’s long jump title at the World Athletics Continental Tour Silver meet in Bhubaneswar with a best effort of 6.71m.
The Indian national record holder produced a consistent series, with her winning mark coming on her third attempt. She opened with 6.51m and 6.58m before landing 6.71m, followed by a foul, 6.65m and 6.56m.
Women’s Long Jump — Final
🥇 Ancy Sojan 🇮🇳 — 6.71m
🥈 Shaili Singh 🇮🇳 — 6.56m
🥉 Mubassina Mohammed 🇮🇳 — 6.31m
4️⃣ Kusuma Ravanada 🇮🇳 — 6.29m
5️⃣ Bhagavathi Bhavani 🇮🇳 — 6.25m
6️⃣ Danielle Nolte 🇿🇦 — 6.05m
Ancy’s victory comes just weeks after she produced a spectacular 6.88m at the same stadium to break the Indian women’s long jump national record.
Although she could not replicate that record-breaking distance this time, her 6.71m was comfortably enough to secure the gold medal and once again underline her dominance in the Indian event.
India also completed a clean sweep of the podium, with Shaili Singh taking silver at 6.56m and Mubassina Mohammed winning bronze with 6.31m.
The result makes the women’s long jump one of the highlights of India’s campaign at its first-ever World Athletics Continental Tour Silver-level meet, with the country’s leading jumpers delivering a memorable home performance at Kalinga Stadium.
For Ancy, the gold adds another strong result to what has already been a breakthrough season, following her record-breaking leap of 6.88m at the same venue.
On the face of it, a bronze medal is merely a step on the podium. But intrinsically, Shahnavaz Khan’s recent podium finish at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Eugene, USA, is a powerful catalyst designed to jump-start the next generation of Indian long jumpers. In a sport where the country has traditionally excelled on the continent and made waves at the Commonwealth Games, anchored memorably by Murali Sreeshankar’s consecutive CWG silver medals, Khan’s feat represents a watershed moment.
While many believe Khan could have easily clinched gold had he matched his personal best, high-pressure global meets are notorious for breaking down athletes. Surviving the intensity and securing a medal at this elite world stage is Khan’s single greatest achievement.
The 18-year-old from Madhaipur village in Pratapgarh district, Uttar Pradesh, became the first Indian male long jumper to win a medal at the World Athletics U20 Championships, soaring to 7.84m. While the distance was well shy of his personal best of 8.30m recorded earlier this year, physical setbacks played spoiler.
“Normally, more the pressure, the better I do in a competition. But in Eugene, after the third jump, I started getting cramps. Then I couldn’t do it. It was cramp on muscles. This is the first time happening. I don’t understand anything,” Shahnavaz told PTI. “There was a little pain in the heel, so both the heel (pain) and cramp.”
Looking past the minor hiccup, he confirmed he will feature in the upcoming invitational Indian Athletics Final Series on September 10 in New Delhi, ahead of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. “My aim is to better my PB of 8.30m and win a medal,” he stated to PTI regarding his targets in Japan.
History shows that the path from junior world podiums to senior Olympic and World Championship success is a proven breeding ground for global athletics legends. International icons like Cuba’s Iván Pedroso, who won world junior gold in 1990 before claiming Olympic gold and four world titles and South Africa’s Luvo Manyonga, who transitioned from a 2009 World Junior silver to Olympic silver and world gold, underline how foundational these junior events are.
On the home front, Khan’s journey mirrors the surging depth of Indian long jumping, transforming from isolated excellence into a sustained pipeline. Mentored by senior trailblazer Murali Sreeshankar, who shares training spaces with him, Khan joins an elite domestic vanguard alongside national record holder Jeswin Aldrin (8.42m) and women’s junior trailblazer Shaili Singh. Sitting comfortably third in the all-time Indian senior list with his 8.30m personal best and having already breached the Asian Games qualification mark, Khan’s journey from Pratapgarh to world junior history proves that India’s long jump revolution is a sustained movement.
By Sushant Singh
Many sports fans were disappointed after India’s senior women’s high jump national record holder and teen sensation Pooja finished 7th in the women’s high jump final at the World Athletics U20 Championships 2026.
Pooja successfully cleared 1.75m, 1.80m, and 1.84m during the final. The 19-year-old was unable to clear 1.87m and ended her campaign with a best clearance of 1.84m.
But why did India’s Pooja, one of the country’s biggest medal hopes, fail to deliver on the world’s biggest stage?
To understand that, we first have to understand why she was considered one of India’s strongest medal hopes at the World U20 Championships.
Pooja has been one of India’s most consistent athletes over the years. Since 2022, when her personal best was 1.71m, she has improved it to 1.93m.
Since 2023, she has competed in 29 high jump competitions and has cleared 1.80m or higher around 21 times. During this period, she continuously improved her personal bests to 1.82m, 1.85m, 1.89m, and finally 1.93m.
What is even more interesting is that she has often produced her personal best performances at the biggest competitions of her career.
– 1.82m — her first-ever clearance above 1.80m, achieved while winning silver at the Asian U20 Championships, which was the biggest competition of her life at that time.
– 1.83m — at the 2024 World Athletics U20 Championships.
– 1.85m — at the 2024 Junior Nationals in the heptathlon, an event she was competing in for the first time in her life.
The biggest performance of her career came at the Asian Athletics Championships 2025, where she was the youngest member of the Indian contingent yet stunned everyone by winning gold and becoming Asian champion with a clearance of 1.89m.
Later, at the Asian U20 Championships, she cleared 1.93m, shattering the Indian national record and becoming the first Indian woman ever to clear that height.
During the 2024 South Asian Games, in an interview with NNIS Sports, Pooja and her former coach Balwan Parta said:
“She is a big-game player. She never posts her PBs during practice, but always does it in competition.”
So what really happened at the biggest competition of her life, the World Athletics U20 Championships 2026?
Pooja had been saying since the beginning of this year that World U20 was her top priority for the season, and she had been training specifically for it.
She started the season early, competing at the Asian Indoor Championships, where she won silver with 1.87m — then the second-best clearance of her career, achieved in her first competition of the season.
Just one competition later, she improved her personal best to 1.90m. Then, at the Asian U20 Championships at Indira Gandhi Stadium on 29 May 2026, she again produced a major performance. Interestingly, almost exactly a year earlier, on 30 May 2025, she had cleared 1.89m to become Asian champion.
The peaking of the body in athletics, especially in jumps, works very differently. Coaches and support staff often have to plan the entire competition calendar before the season even begins — deciding which competitions to target, which to skip, and when the athlete should reach peak condition.
This year has been challenging for many athletes, not just Pooja, with the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games falling in the same year. For Pooja, the challenge was even greater, as she had to manage three major competitions, including the World U20 Championships.
Pooja had not originally included the Commonwealth Games 2026 in her competition calendar, but after achieving the qualification standard, she competed in Glasgow and finished 8th. Less than nine days later, she was competing again at the World U20 Championships.
Another interesting point is that the top five athletes in the world U20 season rankings before the championship were:
- Izobelle Louison-Roe
- Pooja
- Lilianna Bátori
- Ella Mikkola
- Aitana Alonso
Remarkably, four of those five athletes finished in the top four at the World Championships, taking gold, silver, bronze, and fourth place. Only Pooja finished outside the top five.
NNIS Sports has also learned that a few days before leaving for the Commonwealth Games, Pooja spent some time in Delhi for visa appointments. She had been planning to join an international training camp in Poland, but due to visa delays she remained in Delhi for several days and even trained at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium instead of staying at her regular training base, the Anju Bobby George Academy in Bengaluru.
She later returned to Bengaluru after continued visa delays and eventually planned to travel directly to Glasgow for the Commonwealth Games. This may have affected her preparation
Although she is only 19 years old, expectations around her have risen because she has performed at such a high level and made people believe that she could be India’s next big thing in the jumps.
This disappointing campaign will surely give her valuable experience. The expectation now is that she will learn from this setback and bounce back strongly, with the Asian Games 2026 likely to be her next major target, where she is expected to represent India in the women’s high jump.
India’s Pooja finished seventh in the women’s high jump final at the World Athletics U20 Championships 2026, bringing her campaign to an end after a best clearance of 1.84m.
The 19-year-old entered the competition as one of India’s biggest medal hopes and produced a composed performance through the early stages of the final. She successfully cleared 1.75m, followed by 1.80m and 1.84m, progressing through each height before facing the next challenge at 1.87m.
However, Pooja was unable to clear 1.87m, ending her competition with a best mark of 1.84m and securing seventh place overall.
Pooja’s Final Series
- 1.75m – Cleared
- 1.80m – Cleared
- 1.84m – Cleared
- 1.87m – Unsuccessful
The result comes after a breakthrough season for the young Indian high jumper. Pooja has established herself as one of the country’s leading emerging athletes in the event, producing significant performances at both domestic and international competitions.
While she was unable to challenge for the podium in Eugene, reaching the World U20 final itself provided Pooja with valuable experience at a major global championship. The final brought together the leading junior high jumpers from around the world, providing a demanding test for the 19-year-old.
Her clearance of 1.84m was enough to place her seventh in the final standings. Although the outcome fell short of the medal that India would have hoped for from one of its leading medal prospects, Pooja now has the experience of competing in a global championship final to build on in the next stage of her career.
With her World U20 campaign now complete, Pooja will look to carry the lessons from Eugene into future international competitions as she continues her development among India’s promising young athletics talents.
Shahnavaz Khan has soared to a brilliant bronze medal for India in the men’s long jump at the World Athletics U20 Championships 2026, delivering another big moment for the country’s rising athletics stars.
The Indian jumper produced a superb 7.84m on his third attempt to secure the podium, saving his biggest leap for when it mattered most.
Shahnavaz opened with 7.67m before improving to 7.72m in his second attempt. He then unleashed his best effort of 7.84m in the third round. His remaining jumps measured 7.52m, 7.83m and 5.37m.
It was a fiercely competitive final, with the gold and silver medals decided by just 1cm. Yet the biggest mark of the contest was that not a single athlete managed to breach the eight-metre barrier.
Italy’s Daniele Inzoli won gold with 7.97m, while Australia’s Mason McGroder took silver with 7.96m. Shahnavaz’s 7.84m earned him a well-deserved bronze.
The medal is India’s third at these championships and the second of the day.
Earlier, Basant delivered a sensational silver in the men’s high jump, matching his lifetime best of 2.21m.
Two medals in a day. Three medals at the championships.
And another young Indian jumper making his mark on the world stage.
Basant delivered a breakthrough performance on the world junior stage, winning silver in the men’s high jump at the World Athletics U20 Championships and matching his lifetime best of 2.21m.
The young Indian high jumper showed composure under pressure throughout the competition, clearing 2.06m on his first attempt, 2.12m on his second and 2.17m on his first before producing his best when it mattered most — clearing 2.21m on his second attempt.
The clearance equalled Basant’s lifetime best and secured India its second medal of the championships.
It was an exceptionally tight contest at the top. Algeria’s Younes Ayachi, Basant and USA’s Otis Poole all cleared 2.21m, meaning the medals had to be decided on countback.
Ayachi took gold, Basant claimed silver and Poole finished with bronze, with the order determined by the number of attempts taken at the earlier heights.
Basant’s progression:
2.06m – first attempt
2.12m – second attempt
2.17m – first attempt
2.21m – second attempt
For Basant, the silver is a major moment on the international stage and a strong statement of his potential in Indian high jump.
India will have two representatives in the men’s long jump final at the World Athletics U20 Championships after Shahnavaz Khan and Jithin Arjuna both secured their places among the top 12 qualifiers.
Shahnavaz produced the more comfortable qualification, finishing 5th overall with a best jump of 7.73m. He saved his best for his third and final attempt, moving into a qualifying position after opening with 7.51m and fouling his second jump.
The 7.73m effort placed Shahnavaz 4th in his qualification group and safely inside the top 12 overall.
Jithin, meanwhile, had to wait until the very end of qualification to secure his place. After recording identical jumps of 7.43m in his first two attempts, he delivered a crucial 7.57m on his final attempt.
That effort initially left him 6th in his group and 11th overall, but his qualification depended on the remaining athletes in the other group. Once all attempts were completed, Jithin held on to 12th place overall, taking the final qualifying spot.
The automatic qualification mark was 7.75m, but with fewer than 12 athletes reaching that distance, the remaining places were decided on the basis of the best overall performances.
Italy’s Daniele Inzoli was the standout performer in qualification and the only athlete across both groups to break the eight-metre barrier. He topped the standings with an impressive 8.15m.
India’s Pooja Singh has officially qualified for the women’s high jump final at the World Athletics U20 Championships 2026 after producing a flawless qualification round.
The 19-year-old cleared both heights she attempted on her first try, going over 1.76m and then 1.79m without a single failure.
The automatic qualifying mark for the final was set at 1.84m, with the best 12 athletes also advancing if fewer than 12 cleared the standard. However, only 14 athletes across the two qualification groups managed to clear 1.79m, meaning all 14 earned places in the final.
Pooja’s qualification adds another chapter to what has been an impressive season for the Indian high jumper. She has emerged as one of India’s standout performers in 2026, setting a new Indian women’s high jump national record with a clearance of 1.93m.
That season-best mark also puts Pooja among the strongest contenders heading into the world final.
Having negotiated qualification without a single failed attempt, Pooja will now look to reproduce her best form when the medals are decided.
India’s K. Ambriesh saw his campaign come to an end in the men’s high jump qualification at the World Athletics U20 Championships 2026, narrowly missing out on a place in the final.
Competing in a highly competitive qualification round, Ambriesh produced a best clearance of 2.05m before being unable to progress further. He successfully cleared 2.05m, but could not negotiate 2.10m, falling short in all three attempts at the height.
The Indian youngster ultimately finished 12th in his qualification group, ending his challenge before the medal round.
Athletes were required to either clear the automatic qualifying height of 2.21m or finish among the 12 best performers across both qualification groups to secure a place in the final. However, Ambriesh’s clearance of 2.05m was not enough to earn one of the qualifying positions.
The qualification competition proved to be particularly challenging, with athletes battling for limited spots in the final through both clearances and countback. Despite a determined effort, Ambriesh was unable to improve on his best mark and bowed out at the qualification stage.
While his campaign ended earlier than hoped, competing at the World Athletics U20 Championships provided the young Indian high jumper with valuable international experience against some of the world’s leading junior athletes. Such exposure is an important step in the development of emerging talents as they prepare for future continental and global competitions.
Although Ambriesh’s journey concluded in the qualification round, India still has representation in the men’s high jump final through Basant, who earlier secured qualification with a clearance of 2.14m to finish 11th overall.
With the focus now shifting to the final, the Indian camp will look to build on Basant’s qualification while Ambriesh takes away valuable experience from his first appearance at the World Athletics U20 Championships.
