Mumbai, Sep 3 Shifting from the Northern part of the country to the South is a big decision, as it involves bridging spatial, cultural and emotional distances.
At the age of 14, Shaili Singh had to make major adjustments in her life as the aspiring long-jumper moved from her home town Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh to Bengaluru to train at the Anju Bobby George Sports Foundation.
The move from North to South meant staying away from her single mother and two siblings, living alone in an unknown place that was totally different in terms of weather, food and culture.
Shaili Singh took that decision so that she could train under the supervision of the legendary Anju Bobby George, the best woman long-jumper ever produced by the country, who won a bronze at the World Championships in Paris in 2003.
It was a big decision for Shaili, who comes from a modest background, their lives dependent on the small tailoring business run by her mother for livelihood.
She was spotted by Bobby George, coach and husband of Anju Bobby George, who saw her making a barefoot jump in a junior athletics meet in Mangalagiri near Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, in 2017.
Five years hence, Shaili, with a changed technique and nurtured by the George couple, is one of India's most talented athletes and ranks among the world's top 20 long jumpers in the juniors' category.
Shaili made her mark on the international stage when she won a silver at the World U20 Championships in Nairobi with a leap of 6.59m.
She holds most of the records at the age-group level at the domestic circuit and the experience has set her up as a most promising athlete in the country.
She has also done well at the senior level, winning gold in the National Open Athletics Championships 2022 in Bengaluru and has a personal best of 6.76m, which she achieved at the Indian Grand Prix 2023 in Bengaluru. She is just 7 cm short of the women's national long jump record of 6.83 held by Anju Boby George since 2004.
At 19, she qualified for the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, where she failed to make the final following a disappointing effort.
In July this year, Shaili won the silver at the Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok, her first senior international medal.
Shaili is now focusing her energies on doing well in the Asian Games in Hangzhou for which she has met the qualifying standard.
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