Guwahati: Kerala long jumper Ancy Sojan broke the girls Under-21 long jump record with a personal best performance of 6.36 m in winning a memorable competition against Tamil Nadu’s Sherin Abdul Gafoor at the Khelo India Youth Games 2020 here on Sunday.
It was a gripping contest that the two jumpers treated the onlookers.
A student of the Nattika Government Fisheries Higher Secondary School, Thrissur, she had a 6.24 m jump in the Kerala State School Meet. She went 2 cm farther in the SGFI National School Athletics Championship in Sangrur last month. And on Sunday, she was primed up to deliver her best jump of the season.
Quite naturally, she was delighted that she could sustain consistency here with a string of five jumps exceeding 6 m – 6.11, 6.36, 6.29, 6.08 and 6.13 before fouling her final jump.
Tamil Nadu’s Sherin Abdul Gafoor, who set the mark at 6.15 m last year, picked up the gauntlet thrown down by Ancy Sojan. She had a series that read 5.99, 6.16, 6.11, 6.06, 6.30 and 6.13. Away from the jumping pit, the talking point at the Indira Gandhi Athletics Stadium was Madhya Pradesh which topped the table in track and field sport with 10 medals, including five gold and two silver.
Traditional athletics leaders like Haryana and Kerala have two gold each.
Madhya Pradesh are reaping the rewards for the work done by the MP Athletics Academy in Bhopal.
Ikram Ali Khan won the Boys Under-21 discus throw with a new meet record of 53.82m, edging out Haryana’s Abhay Gupta by just 1 cm.
Having got the silver medal in Pune last year after winning the Khelo India School Games gold in New Delhi, he experienced the heady feeling of finishing on top of the podium yet again this time at the Khelo India Youth Games.
Pole vaulter Sandeep Kumar was Madhya Pradesh’s other gold winner on Sunday morning, clearing 4.05 m to leave the Boys Under-17 competition behind. (IANS)
