Kerala’s Ancy Sojan created history by breaking one of India’s longest-standing athletics records, while Maharashtra’s Sarvesh Kushare also set a new national mark in the men’s high jump at the National Inter-State Championships.
The 25-year-old Ancy produced a superb jump of 6.88m in her fifth attempt to erase the 22-year-old national record of 6.83m held by legendary long jumper Anju Bobby George since the 2004 Athens Olympics. With the effort, Ancy also crossed the Athletics Federation of India’s (AFI) Asian Games qualification standard of 6.48m and moved to the top of the Asian season rankings.
Before this performance, Ancy’s personal best was 6.75m, which had placed her second among Asian athletes this season.
Earlier in the day, Sarvesh Kushare also entered the record books after clearing 2.31m in the men’s high jump. His effort broke the previous national record of 2.29m set by Tejaswin Shankar in 2018.
Kushare later attempted 2.35m but was unable to clear the height. However, his 2.31m jump made him the first Indian high jumper to go beyond the 2.30m mark. It also lifted him to joint third in the world season rankings and made him the leading Asian athlete this season. He comfortably crossed the AFI’s Asian Games qualification standard of 2.19m.
The championships have now produced five national records.
For Ancy, the achievement was even more special as she broke a record held by one of India’s greatest athletes. Anju Bobby George remains the country’s only World Championships medallist in athletics after winning bronze in 2003.
“She (Anju) is a legend. I want to just say, ma’am has truly been an inspiration. I recently read that she competed with one kidney…and about her story. That inspired me a lot,” Ancy said after her feat.
“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.”
Ancy, who won the silver medal at the 2022 Asian Games with a jump of 6.63m, said she was focused only on improving her personal best and was not thinking about the national record.