Athletics
Shaili Singh finishes 3rd in Estonia, Olympics entry mark remains out of reach
Long jumper Shaili Singh finished third at the Parnu Beach Stadium Meeting, a World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze level event, with her second-best effort of the season.
Long jumper Shaili Singh in action during an event. (FILE PHOTO: AFI)
Promising Indian long jumper Shaili Singh finished third at the Parnu Beach Stadium Meeting, a World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze level event, in Estonia on Tuesday night.
The 20-year-old, who trains in Bengaluru under the guidance of Robert Bobby George, secured the place with her best leap of 6.42m. Shaili's season best of 6.52m came up at the Indian Grand Prix in Bengaluru in April.
Natalia Linares, the Pan American Games gold medallist from Colombia, clinched the women's long jump event with a leap of 6.58, as local girl Liisa-Maria Lusti settled for the silver medal with her best jump of 6.45m.
However, Shaili from Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, was way behind her Personal Best (PB) of 6.76m, achieved in 2023 at the Indian Grand Prix in Bengaluru.
Hence, India's representation in the women's long jump at the Paris Olympics remains a distant hope, with Shaili, at world no. 43, outside the cut-off mark of 32. She is the best-placed Indian on the world rankings at the moment with a score of 1185, with Ancy Sojan reeling at 45th with 1183.
To achieve the qualification, Shaili, a World U20 Championships and Asian Championships silver medallist, will not only need to break her PB but add a whopping 0.10m to her best of 6.76 as the entry standard for the forthcoming Olympics is set at 6.86m.
Shaili's form in recent events has not been bright. At the 27th Federation Cup, held in Bhubaneswar earlier this month, she lost to Nayana James, who clinched the gold medal with a jump of 6.53m against Shaili's silver medal-winning effort of 6.34m.
Since the Bhubaneswar event, Shaili has been on a tour of Europe and competed in three events, including two in Norway and Germany, this month.
At the Torn Mohn Games in Norway, Shaili finished second with a leap of 6.12m behind Magdalena Bokun of Poland, who won the event by jumping 0.4m more than her Indian counterpart.
At True Athletes Classics in Leverkusen, Shaili finished eighth in a strong field. Shaili could jump only 6.18m as the field was won by Laura Raquel Muller of Germany with a massive 6.61m leap.
