Long jumper Shaili Singh misses gold by 1cm, settles for silver in U-20 World Athletics Championships

A protege of legendary long jumper Anju Bobby George, Shaili was leading at the end of the third round

Highly talented long jumper Shaili Singh on Sunday missed out on scripting history by a mere 1cm as she settled for a silver in the U-20 World Athletics Championships here. The 17-year-old Indian’s personal best effort of 6.59m was not enough for a gold as she was pipped to the post by Sweden’s reigning European junior champion Maja Askag, who managed 6.60m for the top spot on the final day of the championships. A protege of legendary long jumper Anju Bobby George, Shaili was leading at the end of the third round but the 18-year-old Swede overtook her in the fourth round by a mere 1cm which proved to be decisive in the end.