Eugene, 09 August (H.S.): India’s Shahnawaz Khan created history on Saturday by winning the bronze medal in the men’s long jump at the 2026 World Athletics U20 Championships.

The medal is India’s third at the championships. Earlier, Ashish Yadav won silver in the javelin throw, while Basant Kumar Meghwal secured silver in the high jump.

Shahnawaz produced a best effort of 7.84 metres in the final to claim the bronze medal. He became the first Indian male athlete to win a long-jump medal at the World Athletics U20 Championships. Earlier, Shaili Singh had won a silver medal in the women’s long jump in 2021.

However, the bronze may have been somewhat bittersweet for Shahnawaz, as his best effort of 7.84 metres was well below his personal best of 8.30 metres.

The other Indian finalist, R.C. Jitin Arjunan, also fell short of his personal best of 8.12 metres. He finished eighth with a best jump of 7.59 metres.

Italy’s Daniele Leonardo Inzoli won the gold medal with a jump of 7.97 metres, while Australia’s Mason McGroder claimed silver with a personal-best effort of 7.96 metres. McGroder narrowly missed out on the gold medal by just 0.01 metres in his final attempt.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar