Shaili Singh finished second at the U-20 World Athletics Championships in Nairobi on Sunday, 22 August, missing out on making history by a centimetre.
The 17-year-old Indian's personal best of 6.59m was not enough to win the gold medal, as she was beaten to the finish line by Maja Askag of Sweden, the defending European junior champion, who managed 6.60m on the last day of the championships.
Shaili was raised by a single mother, Vinita, who was a tailor. She is being mentored by long jump great Anju Bobby George and coached by her husband, Robert.
Watch the video of her leap to earn Silver:
Tough battles in life are nothing new for young Shaili Singh as she made her journey from Jhansi to Nairobi as one of the most promising future stars. She ran without shoes as a child, despite blisters, to compete in school-level events. It was difficult for her family to put three square meals on the table. Mother Vinita is an avid supporter and the first person she calls to inform about her performances.
Shaili's silver medal was the third medal for India in the World Athletics U20 Championships 2021 adding to the silver won by Amit Khatri in the men's 10,000 metres race walk and the bronze by the 4x400 Mixed Relay team.
This was India's best medal haul ever in the World U20 Athletics Championships and the last couple of weeks after their best-ever performance of seven medals including a gold, in the Tokyo Olympics, augurs well for Indian athletics as javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra had won the first gold medal by an Indian in the Olympics in the Japanese capital.
The three medals in Nairobi helped India finish joint 21st with Greece in the medal table as hosts Kenya dominated at home with 16 medals including eight gold medals. Finland were a distinct second with five medals including four gold, the same as Nigeria who also had three bronze medals but had to settle for the third position as Finland had also won a silver medal.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)