During the last edition of the Asian Athletics Championships, held in Bangkok in 2023, Shaili had clinched silver medal with a 6.54m Jump. Now, next time, she is looking to go one step ahead.

India's rising star in long jump, Shaili Singh, had not competed on a track for the last nine months, but on her return, she breached the earlier attainment. This is her power to tell the world that she is stepping ahead to grab the Gold in future.

“I had an injury nine months ago,” she shared. “At that point of time, my focus was to be fully fit and then return to taking part in competitions," she added.

As per authentic reports, the injury which Shaili suffered was a painful one. A combination of a hip flexor issue and chronic pain in the ankle, which sidelined her for most of the year. Now, recently Shaili Singh made a strong jump of 6.45m to breach the Asian Athletics Championships qualification mark of 6.41m. The young sensation from Uttar Pradesh won the gold medal at the one-day Indian Open Athletics and booked her berth for the continental championship.

Shaili shares: “I am extremely elated to have breached the Asian Athletics Championship qualification mark with a jump of 6.45m in the first tournament of this season. The last time I participated in this event, I finished fifth. This year, I will be eyeing a podium finish and I am training hard and preparing myself for the same. I would also like to thank my coaching staff for always pushing my boundaries and supporting me at every step of my journey. There is still a long way to go and many objectives that I need to achieve. So, I am happy to have ticked off one item from the list.”

Now, Shaili is heading to Kochi for the Federation Cup, set to take place from April 21-24. Speaking about her preparation, she said, "6.45m jump is a confidence booster- but only a step in a greater scheme. I need to go above 6.50m now. That's the standard I have set for myself."

Now, her focus is on 2028 LA Games. Shaili, who has witnessed the development of the sport up close, is quite positive regarding the future of women’s long jump in India, although she also highlights the issues.

She explains, “There are so many girls in villages across our country, who still do not get any opportunity. Their parents forbid them, or they are too nervous to let them go alone. However, things are becoming better. Initiatives like ‘Khelo India’ are making a big difference. These are identifying athletes from pan India. If they get good facilities and coaches, they will certainly excel.”

When it comes to representing India at the Olympics, the 21-year-old does not hesitate. “I simply wasn’t ready last time,” she says with honesty. “I didn’t even know if I was capable of competing at that level. But now….I’m ready. The 2028 LA Games is where my focus goes to now.”

She adds, “From now until 2028, I’ll strengthen myself. I won’t surrender this time. Not even to the slightest tiny mistake," she added.

And when it comes to rivalry with fellow long jumper Nayana James; Shaili does not shy away from it. She says, “In the arena, when we are competing against each other, it is a motivation. If she jumps better, it pushes me also to perform better. We both bring the best out of each other." "But, outside the tracks, we are the best of friends.”

For the first time in Olympic Games history, the number and percentage of women participants will overtake their counterparts at the 2028 LA Olympics. The former Olympic medalist and boxing veteran Mary Kom has welcomed this momentous move. Following years of constant rise in their participation numbers, the number of women participants across all disciplines will be more than men in LA.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has decided to shrink the number of teams in the men’s football competition from 16 to 12; on the other hand, they expanded the women’s tournament by four teams, enlarging the number from 12 to 16. Besides, the addition of two teams in women’s water polo and an extra in the weight category in women’s boxing, making it 12 and seven, respectively.

“It’s a momentous decision, one that will encourage a lot of women to get into sports. The current generation will get opportunities we didn’t get. I wish I was competing right now just so that I didn’t have to wait for so long to compete at the Olympics,” India’s Mary Kom, who won the bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics, said in a chat.

Having won five World Championship medals from 2002 to 2010, Mary had to wait till 2012 to participate in her first-ever Olympic Games, as until then, women’s boxing wasn’t part of the Olympic program. However, despite their inclusion, there were only three categories for women as opposed to ten for men. Meanwhile, history was created twelve years later at the 2024 Paris Games, which saw an equal number of events for both genders for the first time. While it was 50-50 at the Paris Games, the percentage of women’s participants at the LA Games will be 50.5%.