Asian Games, women's long jump: Ancy Sojan clinches silver medal
India's Ancy Sojan won the silver medal in the women's long jump at the 2023 Asian Games on October 2. Sojan, who was ranked fourth in the track, defied all odds. China's Xiong Shiqi took gold with a 6.73m, while Hong Kong's Yue Nga Yan recorded a personal best of 6.50m to win the bronze medal. Meanwhile, Sojan's compatriot Shaili Singh finished fifth.
A sensational effort from Sojan
Sojan, who is ranked lower than Shaili, did exceptionally well to register her personal best mark of 6.63m in her fifth jump. Meanwhile, Shaili had a slow start and had issues with her take-off and landings. Eventually, she finished fifth with her best attempt of 6.48m, only two meters below the bronze medallist Yue Nga Yan, who registered her best effort of 6.50m.
Sreeshankar won the silver medal in the men's long jump
A similar result unfolded in the men's long jump where Murali Sreeshankar bagged the silver medal with his best effort of 8.19m. He was only behind China's Wang Jianan who achieved 8.22m to clinch gold. Jeswin Aldrin holds the season-best record of 8.42m in long jump. He was the highest-ranked jumper on the track. However, he had a horrible outing, finishing eighth (7.76m).
Sojan scripted this Asian Games record
With this silver medal, Sojan became the third Indian female long jumper to return with a medal at the Asian Games since the 1998 edition. Neena Varakil won the silver medal at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta. Anju Bobby George bagged a historic gold medal in the 2002 Busan Asian Games and clinched the silver medal in the 2006 Doha Asian Games.
Who is Ancy Sojan?
Born on March 1, 2001, Sojan hails from Thrissur, Kerala. She has featured in long jump on the junior level as she focused more on 100m and 200m sprints. She rose to prominence after working under her Russian coach Daniel Kapustin. Under the former triple jumper, Sojan has developed into a polished jumper. The latter has had a great year so far.
A look at Sojan's career accolades
Sojan won the gold medal at the 2023 Indian Grand Prix in Trivandrum and also had a familiar fate in the Federation Cup and the Inter-State Championships this year. Before that, she had won four gold medals at the Khelo India Youth Games. However, she missed the podium at the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok as she finished fourth.
