E-Paper
Basant, Shahnavaz win jump medals at U20 Worlds
Basant Kumar Meghwal won the high jump silver and Shahnavaz Khan the long jump bronze at the U20 World Athletics Championships
New Delhi: Indian athletics has had a productive fortnight. While Neeraj Chopra, Tejaswin Shankar, Murali Sreeshankar and Gulveer Singh exemplified the rapid strides track and field athletes are taking at the big stage — thanks to their success at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games — the next generation is asserting itself at Under-20 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, USA.
Ashish Yadav’s silver in javelin on Saturday was followed by the double delight on Sunday with high jumper Basant Kumar Meghwal and long jumper Shahnavaz Khan boosting India’s medal tally. Basant won silver and Shahnavaz bronze, the Navymen extending their excellent breakout seasons.
Basant cleared 2.21m to become the first Indian high jumper, male or female of any age-group, to win a World event. The 19-year-old also equalled his personal best that he achieved in April at the National Junior Athletics Federation Competition in Bengaluru.
“It’s a great feeling. I have been dreaming of this medal for the past two years,” he told HT from Eugene.
In what he described as “ideal conditions for jumping”, Basant started with 2.06m, and progressed to clear 2.12m and 2.17m before attempting 2.21m for the medal.
The top-three cleared 2.21m, which meant the medals were decided on a countback. Algeria’s Younes Ayachi won gold after clearing 2.21m on his first attempt. Basant was successful on his second try while Great Britain’s Otis Poole took bronze, having nailed the height only in his third attempt.
“I never lost my confidence despite failing to clear the first attempt. My coach (former women’s high jump national record holder Sahana Kumari) told me to focus on execution. Deep down I knew I could do it because I had cleared it once at home. So, I trusted my muscle memory to kick in,” Basant said.
His success in Eugene shouldn’t really come as a surprise as the youngster has been consistent throughout the season. Out of the six events he has competed in this year, Basant has been on the podium five times. The Eugene silver was preceded by gold at the Asian under-20 meet in Hong Kong in May where he cleared 2.20m. Basant has improved his personal best by 10cm in a year, going from 2.11m in 2025 to 2.21m.
Hailing from Anupgarh town in Rajasthan’s Sri Ganganagar district, Basant comes from a farming family. His father owns a small land patch where the family grows seasonal crops, ranging from mustard, cotton, wheat and bajra. He studied in a government school where high jump caught his fancy.
“I was a very active kid so my PT teacher made me try different sports. I particularly liked high jump.” The school had limited means, so Basant got a mattress from his house for the landing mat. “I was clearing 1.80m by the time I was 15. My PT teacher began to enrol me in inter-school meets, and I got my first proper kit when I won the state school games gold medal.”
A year later, Basant went to SAI Bengaluru for an entry trial where he was spotted by Sahana Kumari. “I liked his natural technique, although there was a lot of scope for improvement,” she said. Basant couldn’t make the cut but Sahana advised him to shift base to Bengaluru and train under her through the come-and-play scheme. The youngster shared a one-room dwelling with a friend outside the SAI campus, but couldn’t deal with the loneliness and returned home within a month.
Shortly after, he won the Junior Nationals (U-18) and was sent to SAI Bengaluru under the Khelo India scheme in 2023. “There’s a bright future ahead of him. He stands 6’1”, has a good technique, and is a quick learner,” added Sahana.
Basant, who grew up watching YouTube videos of Qatari high jump legend Mutaz Barshim believes he can clear 2.27m in the near future.
“I think I should be able to challenge Sarvesh (Kushare) bhaiya in 1-1.5 years,” he said. Kushare’s national record is 2.31m.
His close friend Shahnavaz continues his rise with a third place. The 18-year-old produced a best leap of 7.84m to finish behind Italy’s Daniele Leonardo Inzoli (7.97m) and Australia’s Mason McGroder (7.96m).
“I am happy to win the medal but not satisfied with the jump. I started cramping on both my calves after the third jump and injured my right heel after the fifth attempt. I could have done 8m otherwise,” he said.
Hailing from Pratapgarh in Uttar Pradesh, Shahnavaz trains at SAI Thiruvananthapuram with the country’s premier jumper Murali Sreeshankar. He came into spotlight last year when he leapt 8.04m at the Continental Tour meet in Bhubaneswar to finish second, behind Sreeshankar.
“I started to believe in myself after last year when I first did 8m. Since then, I knew I can do 8.30m. Sreeshankar has had a big role in my development. He advises me on rest and recovery, and I watch his jumps very closely,” he said.
