Shaili is more or less like me: Anju Bobby George

TIL Desk Sports/ Small, frail and not even in top three — that was Shaili Singh when Anju Bobby George first saw her but the iconic Indian long jumper still decided to mentor her as she found the youngster to be “more or less like” her with a never-say-die attitude. Shaili was 13 at that time and had finished fifth in a national meet.

Now 17, she announced her arrival on the big stage by winning a silver in the under-20 world championships, missing out on a historic gold by a mere 1 cm with a 6.59m effort, though wind assisted, in the long jump final in Nairobi on Sunday.

The Jhansi-born athlete, raised by a single mother who worked as a tailor to support her, missed a chance to join the likes of Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra and star quartermiler Hima Das who won gold medals in 2016 and 2018 respectively. She is nonetheless being touted as the next being thing in Indian athletics.

“When I saw her steely resolve and of course her body structure and muscle suited for long jump, I knew she would go a long way,” Anju told in an interview. “Later, I found out that she is a fast learner, always tries to improve, has a never-say-die attitude. In short, she is more or less like me,” added the 44-year-old Anju, who won a bronze in the 2003 senior World Championships in Paris.