Shaili Singh: Anju Bobby George protege eyes leap of faith at Asian Games

Shaili Singh of Uttar Pradesh competes in the Women’s Long Jump at the India Athletics Grand Prix-1 at the Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru. (PTI Photo/Shailendra Bhojak) NEW DELHI: The first thing Shaili Singh sees on the track is not the crowd, the diving board or even her opponents. It is a leap that has already taken place.“When I’m standing on the runway, I can’t hear anything,” he says. “I see the sand and the start. I know how to go step by step. I am in an imaginary world. I have already taken the leap. Then my body goes,” she told this daily on the sidelines of the Indian Athletics Final Series at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi.The picture neatly captures the 22-year-old’s journey. For years, Indian athletics envisioned Shaili as the heir to Anju Bobby George. Now, as she enters the women’s long jump qualification at the 2026 Asian Games on Friday, with the final scheduled a day later, the imagination is beginning to meet reality.Along with fellow Indian Ancy Sojan, Shaili arrives in Aichi-Nagoya as one of India’s medal hopes. More importantly, she will arrive healthy, a word she repeats with unmistakable relief after spending much of her early career battling injuries.

Newspaper advertising changed everything

Unlike many elite athletes who grow up chasing medals, Shaili almost stumbled upon the sport.In September 2017, her mother noticed an advertisement in a newspaper for a trial hostel for the KD Singh Babu Stadium in Lucknow. Shaili, then a teenager with little understanding of athletics, decided to give it a try.

Bhubaneswar: Shaili Singh of Uttar Pradesh competes in the women’s long jump at the 27th National Federation of Senior Athletics Competition in Bhubaneswar. (PTI Photo/Gurinder Osan)(

“When I entered the game, I had no idea about sports,” she recalls. “That was the first time I entered the sport.She stayed at the stadium for five months before joining the Anju Bobby Sports Foundation (ABSF) in Bengaluru in February 2018. This move changed her career almost immediately. Within eight months, she broke the national under-16 record. Other records across age groups followed.“I’ve broken every national record since then,” she says. “Even now I’m trying to break the senior record (held by Sojan).”

I signed up for the 100m, high jump and long jump. I don’t know how, but my entry was interrupted from high jump to long jump. I attended both events. I think the long jump chose me.

Shaila Singh

Did you choose her long jump?

Shaili’s answer comes without hesitation.“I signed up for the 100 m, high jump and long jump. I don’t know how, but my entry was interrupted from the high jump to the long jump. I had both disciplines registered. I think the long jump chose me,” she says with a smile.The romance of this discipline has not faded even after years of competition.“I can’t explain the feeling of the sand. It’s like a baby is left in the sand. I feel the same when I go there. I feel very happy,” she beams as she explains.Perhaps the legendary Anju Bobby George was the first to notice this childhood joy. India’s first World Championships medalist in athletics mentored Shaili from the start and the comparisons only increased as the youngster progressed.In 2021, Shaili announced herself with a silver medal at the U20 World Championships. Since then, she has represented India at the World Championships, Commonwealth Games and the Paris Olympic cycle, gradually growing into senior athletics.

Shaila Singh. (Photo by Kent Harada/Getty Images)

Those centimeters matter

Long jumps are often decided by margins too small for spectators to notice. For Shaili, those inches came through competition rather than rivalry. Her closest rival is often a woman in the same Indian jersey.“Friendship, not rivalry,” he says of Ancy Sojanová, who is a contender for the gold medal in this discipline. “I’m very happy when we compete. You should have someone on your side who pushes you further. Someone who jumps more than you and you jump more than them. I enjoy it a lot,” says Shaili.A healthy fightback helped lift the Indian women’s long jump, with both athletes consistently pushing above 6.50 meters on the home circuit.

If you are physically fit, you can achieve anything. It doesn’t matter if you do less today. Tomorrow you will be in the same shape. You’ll beat yourself up again. Until you get hurt.

Shaila Singh

Four years of pain

However, distance hides struggles. Shaili has spent most of the last few years dealing with one injury after another: a broken back in 2021, a broken big toe in 2022, and ongoing ankle problems that have persisted for years.“I struggled with injuries for a long time,” she says. “Now I’m completely fit mentally and physically.”Ask her what’s harder—recovering from an injury or chasing records—and the answer is immediate.“If you’re physically fit, you can achieve anything. It doesn’t matter if you do less today. Tomorrow you’ll be in the same shape. You’ll beat yourself up again. If you don’t get hurt.”This renewed fitness was reflected in the results. Last season, she broke Anju Bobby George’s long-standing Federation Cup record with a jump of 6.64m, underscoring both her form and growing consistency heading into the Asian Games. Still, it was much lower than her personal best of 6.76m at the 2022 Indian Grand Prix.

Shaili Singh (Photo by Kent Harad/Getty Images)

A legend beside her

Looking up to someone like Anju Bobby George, whom he tries to emulate, could easily be overwhelming. Instead, Shaili takes it as reassurance.“Anju ma’am is the first female athlete to win a medal at the world championships. She inspires me a lot,” she says. “She motivates me every day. For athletes, you need to get words of confidence from legends like her, mentors, coaches.”The symbolism is hard to ignore. More than two decades after Anju put Indian long jump on the global map, her charge is chasing the biggest continental prize of her career.

He had already landed in her mind

Most athletes imagine success. It appears to be inhabited by Shaili. Even the noise of a packed stadium becomes a fuel rather than a distraction.“I like the public,” she says. “I get energy from them. They motivate me a lot. Thanks to that, I can push a few centimeters more.”Those few centimeters could be the difference between fourth place and a place on the Asian Games podium.As Shaili Singh takes to the runway in Aichi-Nagoya, she will carry with her the expectations of Indian athletics, the faith of her legendary mentor and the confidence gained from years of overcoming physical obstacles.However, her goal remains remarkably uncomplicated. “I want to do my best,” he says. “I’ll be happy with what I do.After all, the perfect jump had already taken place in her mind.