Indian Open Jumps: Nayana James clinches gold with new personal best

Bengaluru, March 21: Seasoned long jumper Nayana James won the gold medal setting a new personal best in the 3rd Indian Open Jumps competition on Wednesday at the Anju Bobby High Performance Center.

In her second attempt, Nayana surpassed her previous personal best of 6.55 meters with a jump of 6.67 meters. Shaili Singh, the silver medallist at the U20 World Championships, jumped a season-best 6.40 meters to secure the title, while Sushmita finished on the podium with a jump of 6.28 meters.

Meanwhile, Shaili Singh, mentored by none other than India's legendary long jumper Anju Bobby George, showcased glimpses of brilliance. Starting strong with a 6.35-meter jump, she steadily improved with each attempt, reaching a commendable 6.40 meters, securing the silver medal.

However, she struggled to find her footing in the later jumps, faltering amidst the pressure and settling for a series of distances that fell short of her potential.

As Nayana continued to demonstrate her consistency and form with jumps of 6.64 meters and 6.48 meters.

However, both Nayana and Shaili fell short of the elusive Olympic qualification mark of 6.86 meters.

This was the second tournament for Nayana in the year as she started her season at the Asian Indoor Championships with the best jump of 6.23m. She won the silver medal last year at the 37th National Games in Goa with a best jump of 6.52m.