3 min readMay 23, 2026 05:19 PM IST
Asian Games silver medallist Ancy Sojan needed to better the long jump national record of 6.83 metres to qualify for the Commonwealth Games 2026 at Federation Cup. While she couldn’t breach the qualification mark for CWG, she did produce the third best jump ever by an Indian with a new personal best of 6.75m.
Her mark is the third best by an Indian after Anju Bobby George’s 6.83m and Shaili Singh’s 6.76m.
Ancy, 25, who didn’t have a great year in 2025 due to hormonal issues and her struggle with losing weight, recorded five jumps over the 6.50m mark.
“It was good and the graph of my jumps was going upwards. The first target for me was to complete the event without a foul jump and I did that,” Ancy told reporters after her event.
The consistency was remarkable because she crossed the 6.50m mark just once last year.
James Hillier, head coach of Reliance Athletics program, was particularly impressed with her consistency. “I know she missed the qualification mark but if you look how many times she crossed the 6.50m mark, it will tell you the story. I think the key for her is to remain consistent throughout the season. Ancy is someone who needs to focus on one event at a time and when she does it, the results are there,” he said.
Year of struggle
Ancy was struggling hard with losing weight and opened up on how she managed to control her diet and overcome it.
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“I was struggling with hormonal issues and it was very hard for me to lose weight. And I struggled a lot with food. I trained hard too. Because I know, if I want a good performance, I need to sacrifice and be disciplined. So, my coach Anoop Joseph told me if you want to be a good performer, you need to train like that. So, I feel the changes in my training and all is translating well here,” said Ancy.
The struggle to make a comeback was not only physical but also mental.
“I heard lots of people saying that it will be tough for me to come back and any athlete can beat me,” Ancy opened up. “However, I thought that let them talk. I will train with all my heart and make a comeback.”
The comeback happened as Ancy opened her season with a bronze medal at the Asian Indoor Championships in February which set her on course for the season. “I think the Asian Indoor Championships gave her the confidence back and she just picked it up from there. I’m sure she is going to have a great show at the Asian Games,” Hillier said.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
