Ancy Sojan Scripts History, Shatters Anju Bobby George's Long-Standing Long Jump National Record In Bhubaneswar

Keralam long-jumper Ancy Sojan made history, smashing the 22-year-old national record in the discipline owned by legendary Anju Bobby George during the National Inter-State Athletics Championships in Bhubaneshwar on Saturday.

In the long jump, Ancy, 25, made a sensational leap of 6.88 m, outdoing Anju's long-held national record of 6.83 m, which was made during the 2004 Athens Olympics, as per ESPN.

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Also, in the high jump men's action, Sarvesh Kushare also broke another national record, going past Tejaswin Shankar's 2.29 m mark with a fantastic 2.31 m leap.

The championships are taking place from June 24 to 28 in Kalinga Stadium at Bhubaneswar. Several athletes like Dev Meena (pole vault men's), Jyothi Yarraji (women's 100 m hurdles), Anushka Yadav (hammer throw women's), and Mohammed Afsal (800 m men's) being among the athletes who have secured an Asian Games spot.

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Speaking after her qualification for the Asian Games, Ancy said, "The infrastructure and training facilities are so good, and Reliance Foundation Sports gave me a better experience with international competition. From nutrition to sporting goods, they support us completely. Even if we fail or face injuries, they stand by us because they have great trust that we will bring home medals for India."

Apart from Ancy, Yashas P (men's 400m hurdles), Anu Raghavan (women's 400m hurdles) and Aadarsh Ram (men's high jump), also secured qualification for the Asian Games.

Defending champion Yashas set a new meet record, breaking his own record, by clocking a time of 49.14s in the final that saw a photo finish.