Commonwealth Games or Junior World Championships? Experience or another medal? The dilemma continues for long jumper Shaili Singh and her coaches Anju and Robert Bobby George.
The 18-year old Shaili had won silver at the previous edition of the Junior Worlds in 2021 but she is eligible for another shot at the top spot later this year. She is capable too, except that it clashes with the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
“Shaili is a very good talent and very young right now but the best thing about her is that she has got scientific training from the age of 14. She performed up to our expectations at the World Juniors last year and we are not overstressing her or putting any pressure to perform because of her age.
“If she does well in domestic meets before final selection we can think of her entry in CWG because more than a medal, we are looking at gaining experience at that level; our target is 2024 and 2028 Olympics,” Anju said here. Interestingly, Shaili is yet to breach the 6.50m qualifying mark for the CWG set by the Athletics Federation of India.