'Records are meant to be broken': Anju Bobby George hails Ancy Sojan after national record falls

KOCHI: As Ancy Sojan soared to a 6.88m jump at the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar Saturday to break Anju Bobby George’s 22-year-old women’s long jump national record, the former champion watched the historic moment unfold at her Bengaluru residence, with a smile on her face.Ancy, 25, orchestrated the jump on her fifth attempt, surpassing the previous national mark of 6.83m Anju had set at the 2004 Athens Olympics.“I am proud of her…watched her jump with a smile on my face. Records are always meant to be broken. Too bad we had to wait for 22 years for someone to break my record. Long jump has always been a Malayalee speciality. Proud that a Keralite broke my record,” Anju told TOI.The 2003 World Championship bronze medallist said Ancy’s record-breaking performance did not come as a surprise.“She has been a consistent performer over the past year, and I had the feeling that she was getting close to my record,” Anju explained.In May this year, she leapt 6.75m to bag gold at the Federation Cup in Ranchi. On Saturday, Ancy, a Thrissur native, registered scores of 6.73m, foul, 6.67m, 6.72m, 6.88m and 6.69m respectively.She would go past the Asian Games qualification mark of 6.48m with her opening jump, before eclipsing the meet record of 6.63m set by Mayookha Johny fifteen years ago.

“When she crossed 6.73m on her first attempt, I knew this would be her day. It set the tone for her. Ideally, I would have wanted a tearaway Malayalee teen to break my record. But Ancy was spot on today,” Anju elaborated.When asked why it took so long for someone to break her record, Anju said: “What can I say…Elaathinum athintedhaya samayam und.” (Everything has its own time)Anju, 49, also heaped praise on her wards Shaili Singh, who finished second in Bhubaneswar behind Ancy with a leap of 6.67m, and Lakshadweep’s Mubassina Mohammed came third with 6.53m jump. They both crossed the Asian Games qualification standard listed for the event.“Shali and Mubassina, who train at my academy in Bengaluru, finished on the podium tonight along with Ancy. Indian women’s long jump is looking extremely competitive with these three girls,” she added.