Indian long jumper Shahnavaz Khan has set his sights on an Asian Games medal after becoming the first Indian athlete to win a long jump medal at the World Athletics U20 Championships. The 18-year-old claimed bronze in Eugene, USA, with a best effort of 7.84m, and now wants to improve on his personal best of 8.30m at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Japan.
Khan said his target is clear: better his personal best and win a medal at the Asian Games. His 8.30m mark, achieved earlier this season, has already taken him beyond the Athletics Federation of India’s qualification standard for the 2026 Asian Games and placed him third on the Asian senior seasonal top list.
World U20 bronze follows a breakthrough season
The World Athletics U20 Championships result was a landmark for Khan, even though it fell short of the distance he had produced earlier in the year. He said cramps in his left calf began after his third jump in Eugene, while heel pain also affected his performance.
“Normally, more the pressure, the better I do in a competition. But in Eugene, after the third jump, I started getting cramps. Then I couldn’t do it,” Khan said in an interaction facilitated by the Athletics Federation of India. He described the issue as the first time he had experienced such cramps.
Despite the physical trouble, Khan secured bronze with 7.84m and added another major result to a season of steady progress. He is the reigning Asian U20 champion, having also won gold at the Asian U20 Championships in May with a jump of 7.84m.
Over the past four months, Khan has raised his personal best from 8.23m to 8.30m. That 8.30m effort is the national U20 record and ranks third on India’s all-time senior list, behind Jeswin Aldrin’s 8.42m and Murali Sreeshankar’s 8.41m.
Khan finished behind Sreeshankar, who jumped 8.38m, at the National Inter-State Championships in June. The two train at the same venue, and Khan said the senior jumper helps him identify and correct mistakes.
Asian Games aim and return to competition
Khan expects the heel issue and calf cramp to be resolved soon and said he should be able to compete in the invitational Indian Athletics Final Series in New Delhi on September 10. The meet is expected to feature many of the athletes bound for the Asian Games in Japan.
For Khan, the next major objective is to turn his growing promise into a senior continental medal. His progression this season, U20 record and place among Asia’s leading senior jumpers have made the Asian Games a significant next test.
The long jumper comes from Madhaipur village in Uttar Pradesh’s Pratapgarh district. His father, Naseemudin, who worked as a taxi driver, died of cancer in 2018, when Khan was 10. His uncles, who were national-level athletes, then helped guide him in the sport.
Khan’s World U20 medal and his 8.30m personal best have established him as one of India’s leading young jumpers. With the Asian Games ahead, he will be looking to produce a longer jump than his Eugene bronze-winning mark and contend for a place on the podium.
Basant Kumar Meghwal also earns World U20 silver
The World U20 Championships also brought a historic men’s high jump silver for Basant Kumar Meghwal. The 19-year-old cleared a personal-best 2.21m to become the first Indian to win silver in the event at the global U20 showpiece.
Basant, the reigning Asian U20 champion, said he had hoped to clear 2.24m for gold but felt ankle strain during his take-off. Algeria’s Younes Ayachi won gold on countback after clearing 2.21m on his first attempt, while Basant cleared the height on his second attempt and Britain’s Otis Poole on his third.
Coached by Sahana Kumari, Basant has improved his personal best by 10cm this season, from 2.11m to 2.21m. He is scheduled to compete at the National Open in October and is aiming to reach the 2.27m to 2.29m range over the next one or two years.
