Shaili Singh, 17-year-old Jhansi girl, became the new long jump queen of India by winning silver medal at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Nairobi. She missed the gold by by just one centimetre. She was raised by her mother Vinita, a single parent to three children, who encouraged her to work hard to turn her dreams into gold.
“It was a tough battle for my mom in the beginning. She had to raise three kids as a single mother. But all credit to her, she worked hard to support all of us. She is very strong. She was expecting a gold medal from me,” Shaili said. The 17-year-old trains at the Anju Bobby Foundation in Bengaluru.
After World junior medals by Neeraj Chopra (2016) and Hima Das (2018) in the past, the Kasarani stadium in the Kenyan capital saw the emergence of another young Indian athlete as Shaili won India’s second silver medal at the meet. The young Indians ended with a haul of two silver medals and one bronze.
Coach Robert Bobby George, who was happy to help India win another world medal in long jump after a gap of 18 years, said: “She joined the sports hostel on Sep 4, 2017 and just after four months on Feb, 8 2018 she was in the national camp. She almost met my target. Even though she lost the gold today, she will get another chance in the next edition. I’m sure that she will rule the international scene for the next 10-12 years. She will erase Anju’s record, 6.83m, in the next three years,” the coach said.
The 17-year-old went into the title round as a favourite to win the gold but in the end her best of 6.59m, 11cm better than her personal best that came in her third attempt, won her the second spot behind Sweden’s Maja Askag who touched down at 6.60m to complete a grand double of long and triple jump titles.
Amit Khatri wins silver in 10,000m race walk
Amit Khatri won a silver in the men's 10,000m race walk event to clinch India's second medal at the World U-20 Athletics Championship in Nairobi after the 4x400m mixed relay team won bronze a few days back.
The 17-year-old Khatri, the national record holder and world U-20 season leader, clocked 42 minute 17.94 seconds to finish second behind Kenya's Heristone Wanyoni (42:10.84) on the fourth and penultimate day of the championships. Khatri was leading after the 9,000m mark but the local athlete, Wanyoni, pulled ahead with less than two laps left in the race to win gold with a personal best time. The high altitude conditions in the Kenyan capital affected Khatri's performance as he struggled for breath during the race.
“It is not the result I expected but I am happy with the silver medal. Even though I came here five days before the event to acclimatise, the high altitude affected me," Khatri told the reporters. "At some point in the race, I could not breathe properly but I am happy with the silver medal," he added.