10 longest jumps by Indian women

There's something exciting happening in Indian athletics - in Women's Long Jump. Anju Bobby George had taken Long Jump to headlines two decades ago, but since then, we have not had any breakout performances.

The 6.70-metre mark has been disturbed after two long decades now. It was Aishwarya Babu last year, and then it is the young Shaili Singh, who trains with Anju Bobby George herself, who has had a prodigious run of form.

Last week, Shaili jumped 6.65m at the Seiko Grand Prix in Yokohama, Japan. This is the longest jump at a foreign event by an Indian other than Anju Bobby. Her jump of 6.76m earlier this year, her personal best, also puts her just behind Anju Bobby's legendary leap at the 2004 Olympics.

List of the top 10 longest jumps by Indian women

Greatest Indian long jumpers

1) Anju Bobby George (6.83m)

The undisputed all-time great in women's long jumps. Her records, mostly etched between 2001 and 2005, stand to this date. Her best performance, the national record 6.83m jump, was achieved at the 2004 Athens Olympics held in Greece.

She was the bronze medallist at the 2003 World Championships (6.70m), making her the first Indian long jumper to win a medal at this stage.

2) Shaili Singh (6.76m)

The 19-year-old Shaili Singh has brought about a new hope. Training under the great Anju Bobby George at her academy in Bengaluru, Shaili has already reached 6.76m, which puts her second on the all-time lists just behind the 6.83m jump at the Athens Olympics. Given her young age, there is a hope that Shaili could break the 19-year-old national record soon and perhaps even test the 7m line in a few years.

3) Aishwarya Babu (6.73m)

Aishwarya Babu took everyone by surprise at the National Inter States Athletics in Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Chennai last year with a jump of 6.73m. She was also able to break the 11-year-old national record.

However, the 25-year-old failed a dope test before the Commonwealth Games and is now serving a four-year ban. Can she prove her detractors wrong in the future?

4) Varakil Neena (6.66m)

Along with Nayana James, Neena Varakil was the flag bearer for Indian women long jumpers in the years between Anju Bobby and the likes of Shaili. She won a silver medal at the 2018 Asian Games with an effort of 6.51m, bowing out on a high.

5) Jagadeesahppa Javur Shobha (6.66m)

A heptathlete by trade, JJ Shobha is remembered as the athlete who ran with a torn ligament to finish a race at the Athens Olympics. But apart from her bravery, she was also just behind Anju Bobby George in the long jump pit in their heyday.