Nayana James pips Ancy Sojan in battle for IGP4 long jump crown

Nayana James produced two efforts over 6.37m to win the high-profile womens long jump title in the Indian Grand Prix 4 Athletics Meet at the Kalinga Stadium here on Tuesday.Ancy Sojan, who led after the first two rounds with 6.29m efforts and the fourth round with a 6.35m leap, finished second ahead of World U20 silver medallist Shaili Singh.

Nayana James produced two efforts over 6.37m to win the high-profile women's long jump title in the Indian Grand Prix 4 Athletics Meet at the Kalinga Stadium here on Tuesday.

Ancy Sojan, who led after the first two rounds with 6.29m efforts and the fourth round with a 6.35m leap, finished second ahead of World U20 silver medallist Shaili Singh. The Uttar Pradesh teenager, who trains in Bengaluru, came with a best effort of 6.27m in her first meet since the U20 World Athletics Championships in Nairobi in August last year.

The 26-year-old Nayana James had a fouled jump and 5.99m on her first two efforts but took the lead in the third round with a 6.30m leap, 1cm more than Ancy Sojan's two best jumps until then. After Ancy Sojan responded with a 6.35m effort in the fourth round, Nayana James leapt 6.37m twice to seal the title while her 21-year-old team-mate fouled her last two jumps. From the home fans' point of view, Amiya Kumar Mallick and Aryan Ekka's 1-2 in the men's 100m sprint was pleasing. The Odisha sprinters drew confidence from one another in the second of the four races in the dash. Maharashtra's Karan Vivek Hegiste was the best of the other sprinters to take the bronze medal.

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