Ancy Sojan celebrates after eclipsing Anju Bobby George’s long-standing national record in women’s long jump at the Inter-State Championships. | Photo Credit: BISWARANJAN ROUT

Kerala’s Ancy Sojan ended one of Indian athletics’ longest-standing marks by breaking Anju Bobby George’s women’s long jump national record at the 65th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Friday.

The 25-year-old leapt 6.88m with a legal wind reading of +0.7m/s to better Anju’s 6.83m, set at the Athens Olympics on August 27, 2004. The record had stood for nearly 22 years.

Ancy, who has been among India’s most consistent long jumpers in recent seasons, produced the record-breaking effort in her fifth attempt. Her series read 6.73m, foul, 6.67m, 6.72m, 6.88m and 6.69m, underlining her control through the competition.

The effort also shattered the meet record of 6.63m, set by Mayookha Johny in Bengaluru in 2011. Ancy had already gone past the Asian Games qualification mark of 6.48m with her opening jump before raising the national benchmark later in the final.

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Shaili Singh finished second with 6.67m, while Lakshadweep’s Mubassina Mohammed took third place with 6.53m. Both also crossed the Asian Games qualification standard listed for the event.

The performance continued Ancy’s strong 2026 season. In May, she had jumped 6.75m to win gold in Ranchi, signalling that she was closing in on the national record.

Earlier in the day, Sarvesh Kushare broke Tejaswin Shankar’s National Record in the men’s high jump.

Published on Jun 27, 2026