Indian long jumper Shaili Singh cruises to the final of the World Athletics U20 Championships

Indian long jumper Shaili Singh has qualified for the World Athletics U20 Championship finals. Shaili breached the qualification mark of 6.35m with a jump of 6.40m finishing on the top of the charts in her third attempt.

Shaili Singh is through to the long jump finals

Shaili had finished just behind the qualification mark by a narrow margin on her first attempt. She had cleared a distance of 6.34m. She could only manage a distance of 5.98m in her second attempt.

Apart from Shaili, Sweden's Maja Asgak also reached finals with a jump of 6.39m. Brazilian Lissandra Maysa Campos finished third in the charts with a jump of 6.36m. Campos' jump was just enough to qualify for the finals.

#WorldAthleticsU20 Shaili Singh is through to the final as she breaches the qualification mark with a jump of 6.40 in her final attempt. Excellent performance from the Indian. pic.twitter.com/NhGzhz0Itg

— The Field (@thefield_in) August 20, 2021

Nandini Agasara also qualified for the semi-finals of the 100m hurdles at the ongoing mega event. Nandini, who clocked 14.18s, will be in action in the semi-finals later on Friday (5:35 pm IST).

Meanwhile, Tejas Shirse and Pooja bowed out of the U20 Championships. Tejas failed to qualify for the semi-final of the men's 100m hurdles after finishing 17th. Pooja clocked a time of 4:37.85 in her women's 1500m heat to finish in the 11th position. In the 1500m, only the first four and next four fastest across the heats qualify for the further rounds.

Shaili Singh's latest performances

Shaili is currently ranked No 2 in the under-18 category. She is also the U-20 Indian record holder and national champion in women’s section in 2021.

Shaili's 6.48m long jump at the Interstate Nationals made her the fifth-best jumper on the world's entry list.

The Indians have won just two golds at the under-20 World Athletics Championships to date. Olympic gold medallist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra won in 2016 and quartermiler Hima Das bagged gold in 2018.

Shaili Singh will look to join Neeraj and Hima by winning this year's World Athletics U20 Championships finals which are being held in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.