17-year-old Shaili Singh has won a silver medal in the Under-20 World Athletics Championship held in Nairobi, Kenya. She set a personal best of 6.59 meters in the long jump category. Shaili has been coached by famous long jump athlete Anju Bobby George and has been brought up by a single mother. She exhibited a remarkable performance and missed the gold medal by 1 cm.
Sweden’s Maja Askag, the European Junior Champion, won the gold medal in the 4th round.
Shaili’s journey as a young athlete has been fraught with adversity, as she struggled with poverty while competing in school-level events. After the event, she said: “My mother told me before the final not to worry. She expected me to win gold. Next time, I will win gold. I wanted to hear the National Anthem being played at the stadium. As she is a single mother, it was difficult for her but my mother looked after me, my sister, and my brother”.
The World Athletics Championship is a 5-day event conducted once every two years. The 2021 iteration is being hosted at the Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi, Kenya. It draws young athletes from more than 100 countries. The event has a total 27 competitive disciplines drawn from track and field sports.
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