Mumbai: Ancy Sojan broke the women's long jump national record 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.
Ancy began her sequence with a jump of 6.73m, followed by 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 has had a fine season so far, winning 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.
High jumper Sarvesh Kushare also set a new national record with a jump of 2.31m in his third attempt, breaking the previous mark of 2.29m set by Tejaswin Shankar in 2018.
