Ancy Sojan bagged a silver for the second successive Asian Games.
| Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy
For five jumps on a wet Sunday (September 27, 2026), Ancy Sojan was sitting pretty at the top. She was on the verge of clinching India’s first athletics gold at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. She also had compatriot Shaili Singh in third place for company on the podium. By the time the long jump event was over, Ancy had to settle for a second consecutive silver, and Shaili was pushed to fourth on a day that was filled with ‘ifs’ for India.
What if Ancy had pushed a little harder? What if Shaili had not left things too late? What if Tejaswin Shankar — who won his second Asiad medal, a bronze in decathlon — had managed just a few more points through the gruelling two-day event? What if Parul Chaudhary had not run the 1,500m heats a day before and stayed fresh for the 3,000m steeplechase, where she set a new personal best but still got only a bronze?
The conditions were not helpful, with a constant downpour and cold weather making it difficult for athletes to stay warmed up and perform to the optimum, especially on the field where every attempt is followed by a long wait. Ancy had managed to go ahead with her very first attempt, a 6.49m to throw down the gauntlet. China’s Huang Yingying, who has been chasing Ancy on the Asian top list all through the year, equalled in her fifth attempt.
Challenge? Accepted as Ancy improved to 6.53m in her fifth. On most occasions, that would be the end of the competition. Not on Sunday (September 27) at the Paloma Mizuho Athletics Stadium, where Huang saved the best for last and jumped 6.55m. Teammate Tan Mengyi mirrored her with a best of 6.46m on her final attempt, pushing Shaili (6.42m) out of medal contention.
Sarvesh Kushare followed up his Commonwealth Games silver with another second-place finish.
| Photo Credit:
R.V. Moorthy
High jumper Sarvesh Kushare, among those who were uncertain before the Asiad with a niggle that kept him out of competition, proved his Commonwealth Games silver was no fluke, producing an identical 2.25m here in his second attempt to finish behind Fu Chao-hsuan of Taiwan.
Last edition’s silver medallist Tejaswin, meanwhile, pushed hard to end the 10-discipline event with a win in the 1,500m, but his total of 7,934 points could only fetch him a bronze behind Yuma Maruyama (8,123) and Xinghua Chen (8,012).
Tejaswin Shankar will return home with a medal for the second straight Asiad.
| Photo Credit:
R.V. Moorthy
Parul clocked 9:08.67 for a personal best to be third in the steeplechase, while Harita Bhadra, in her maiden continental outing, was as surprised as anyone else to return with bronze in the 200m (23.20s).
However, Animesh Kujur was fifth in 20.80s in the 200m final, even as Thai Boonson Puripol set a new Asian record of 19.88 to add to his 100m Games record.
Earlier in the morning, Manju Rani finished last in the women’s marathon race walk in 3:40:17, while Priyanka was disqualified after receiving four warnings within the first nine km itself.
Published – September 27, 2026 09:14 pm IST
