Mumbai: Ancy Sojan took a closer look at the pit. Then, fists closed, she shook both her hands in nervous anticipation. When the number flashed on the electronic scoreboard, she broke into animated celebration, pumping those fists to the chest, placing her palms on the head and collapsing on the track.
Ancy had just broken the women’s long jump national record that had stood for more than two decades, at the National Inter-State Championships in Bhubaneswar on Saturday. The 25-year-old Kerala jumper’s effort of 6.88m bettered the mark of 6.83m set by Anju Bobby George while finishing fifth at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
On a day when high jumper Sarvesh Kushare also set a new national record, Ancy looked like she was out to do something special from the get-go. She began her sequence with a jump of 6.73m. After 6.67m and 6.72m in her third and fourth attempts, respectively, the big leap of 6.88m came in her fifth attempt. She signed off the night with 6.69m, after an excellent series. Shaili Singh was second at 6.67m while Mubassina Mohammed was third at 6.53m.
Ancy also went past the Asian Games qualifying mark of 6.48m set by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI).
Ancy said Anju had been an inspiration for her.
“She is a legend. I want to just say ma’am has truly been an inspiration,” she said. “I saw her jump several times and I know how hard she trained for that. I hope ma’am should be happy for this and she would support me.”
After struggling with health issues last year, Ancy, the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games silver medallist who also won silver at the 2025 Asian Championships, has had a fine season so far. She won bronze at the Asian Indoor Championships with 6.21m, and had a personal best of 6.75m at the Federation Cup in Ranchi last month.
“I came here to do my PB, not the national record,” she said. “But, finally it happened.”
Kushare went into the record books with a jump of 2.31m in his third attempt. The previous mark of 2.29m was set by Tejaswin Shankar in 2018.
“I had been getting close to 2.30m and thinking about clearing it, but it just wasn’t happening,” said Kushare. “Today I went for 2.31m and I am very satisfied.
“I will go for gold at the Asian Games and I am confident about it. The 2.35m mark will also fall, may be during the Commonwealth Games or the Asian Games.”
