Asian Games 2026: Kerala’s Ancy Sojan wins long jump silver, gold eludes her by 4cm

Aichi-Nagoya: Kerala’s Ancy Sojan Sojan won the silver medal in the women’s long jump at the Asian Games 2026 on Sunday after a dramatic final round saw China’s Huang Yingying snatch gold with a 6.55m jump.

Ancy, who had led the competition from the first attempt through the fifth, finished with a best effort of 6.53m. She could manage 6.49m in her final attempt and missed the gold by just four centimetres.

Huang had matched Ancy’s earlier best of 6.49m before producing her winning 6.55m jump on her sixth and final attempt.

Ancy had looked set for gold after producing 6.49m in her opening attempt and improving that mark to 6.53m in her fifth. However, Huang’s late effort changed the standings in the final moments.

India’s Shaili Singh, who had been in medal contention, also missed out on the podium after Japan’s Tan Mengyi jumped 6.46m in her final attempt to claim bronze.

Ancy’s second Asian Games medal

The silver is another Asian Games medal for Ancy, who had also finished second in the women’s long jump at the previous edition in Hangzhou.

The Malayali athlete entered the 2026 Games with renewed confidence after breaking a 22-year-old national record earlier this year. She improved Anju Bobby George’s long-standing mark of 6.83m to 6.88m at the inter-State championships in Bhubaneswar in June.

Ancy had also won silver at the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi last year and bronze at the Asian Indoor Championships in China in February.

Four centimetres separate Ancy from gold

Despite missing the top spot, Ancy produced 6.53m in a high-quality final and stayed in contention until the last jump.

The late turnaround handed China the gold, while Ancy had to settle for silver in another major international final.