AFI to take Shaili Singh long jump measurement dispute at Asian Games to CAS
The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) will take the disputed measurement of Shaili Singh’s long jump at the Asian Games 2026 to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the federation said on September 28, 2026. The challenge follows a contested mark that left Shaili fourth, four centimetres behind the bronze medallist.
Shaili recorded a best of 6.42m in Sunday’s final, while China’s Mengyi Tan moved into third with a 6.46m effort in her last attempt. Ancy Sojan won silver with 6.53m and China’s Huang Yingying took gold with 6.55m. The dispute centres on Shaili’s fourth attempt, which was officially measured at 6.41m.
Her mentor and AFI senior vice-president Anju Bobby George told PTI that an official near the landing pit had initially identified one mark before another official, positioned further away, pointed to a shorter mark. "We saw her jump was clearly ahead of the gold-winning mark. Initially, the official near the landing pit pointed to Shaili's leg mark for the measurement," Anju told PTI. "But later another official who was standing far behind came and pointed to a mark which was far shorter from board. They took the measurement at the mark pointed by the official who was standing far behind. The measurement should have been done on the mark pointed by the official nearest to the landing pit," she added.
Shaili protested the measurement during the competition and the Indian camp was subsequently shown footage of the attempt. Anju said the officials first showed them a front-view video, while the Indian side wanted to see the side view. After reviewing the available footage, the jury rejected the appeal and upheld the original decision.
The controversy also involved the mark made by Shaili’s hair in the sand; under long jump measurement rules the distance is taken to the nearest break in the landing area made by the athlete. The Indian camp has questioned whether the correct mark was identified in Shaili’s case and whether the available video evidence adequately established where that mark was made.
After the jury upheld the original decision, the AFI decided to take the matter to CAS. "It's an injustice to Shaili. She could have even won gold if the correct measurement was made. So, we are going to CAS," Anju said.
An AFI official also confirmed to PTI that the federation plans to challenge the decision before the Lausanne-based CAS; the appeal will shift the dispute from the Asian Games jury process to the sport’s international arbitration body.
