I felt like I was on the runway: Anju on Shaili

Shaili Singh leapt at the World U-20 Athletics Championships in Nairobi on Sunday. And watching it in Bengaluru, Anju Bobby George felt as if she was on the runway.

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Anju, one of India’s most decorated athletes with a world championships bronze and gold in the world athletics final, said memories of days during her career peak came back when she saw the find of her and husband-coach Robert win silver.

“I was getting the feeling that I was on the runway. She has good speed. Her technique and everything are almost similar to mine. I was so excited to see her at the world level,” Anju said.

“I am happy for her. She missed the gold by one cm. That is heartbreaking. But still it is silver and she was the youngest in the field; she will have one more opportunity in the under-20 world championships. This is just the beginning for her.”

Anju said Shaili, 17, exuded confidence though it was her first major competition.

“We knew she was in the range of 6.60 and we were kind of prepared. You could see from her face that she was very confident. I was expecting tough competition because five-six of them were in the same range.”

When Shaili was spotted by Anju and Robert in 2017, she was very thin. “She comes from a humble family and was raised by a single parent. Shaili was among the first batch of five girls Robert started to train in our academy.

“When she came to us, she was a 4.50m jumper (in 2018). From there it was a long and great journey and great dedicated work by Bobby. She was just 14 plus when we saw her in November 2017 in a competition. She was in the 18th place among 50. We could see that spark in her though she was not winning. We spoke to her mother and brought her to our academy in 2018 April. She was lean and frail and nobody would notice her.

“We did scientific analysis. There was no build for long jump, and for the first few months we made her ready for training— good food, rest and recovery. After one year, she did 5.90m and then kept on improving. The journey was fast. Bobby was completely dedicated full time to these girls.

“Bobby was with me for so many years and it was tough for him to coach me, with my limitations. He was completely exhausted and took a long break; now he is proving again he is the best coach.”

Anju sees a great future ahead for Shaili.

“She is still raw, only 17. She needs to develop a lot. She is tender, so we cannot put too much pressure right now. Our target was the 2028 Olympics. She could be ready for the next Olympics too. By 2028 you can definitely expect a medal at the Olympics from her. She is in good hands.”

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