Ancy Sojan retains Asian Games long jump silver; Shaili Singh slips to fourth

Ancy Sojan finished second in the women's long jump at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya on Sunday, recording a best of 6.53m, while compatriot Shaili Singh slipped to fourth after late-round jumps reshaped the podium.

Sojan opened the final with a 6.49m jump and improved to 6.53m on her fifth attempt, a mark that kept her in the lead for much of the competition; her final attempt measured 6.49m.

China’s Huang Yingying produced a 6.55m leap on the event’s last attempt to move ahead of Sojan and claim gold, and China’s Tan Mengyi recorded a 6.46m final jump to secure the bronze and push Shaili off the podium.

Shaili posted a series of 6.25m, 6.34m, 6.41m and a best of 6.42m, remaining in the bronze position until Tan’s final-round 6.46m; Shaili had won the Indian Athletics Series final earlier this month with a 6.65m and her personal best stands at 6.76m.

Earlier in the season Sojan had broken the Indian women’s long jump record with a 6.88m effort at the National Inter-State Athletics Championships in June, surpassing Anju Bobby George’s 6.83m mark from 2004, and the silver at Aichi-Nagoya is her second consecutive Asian Games medal after a 6.63m silver at the 2023 Hangzhou Games.

India therefore missed out on a double podium despite having two athletes among the leading contenders, while Sojan’s silver adds another athletics medal to India’s growing tally at the Asian Games 2026.