Two auto-drivers, one destination. The making of India’s new long jump queen Ancy Sojan More sports News:

KOCHI/BHUBANESWAR. When Ancy Sojan overhauled a 22-year-old national record in women’s long jump on Saturday, it shook Nattika, a small fishing hamlet in Kerala’s Thrissur district.About 2,000 km away from the sand pit in Bhubaneswar where he landed with 6.88m, two local auto-rickshaw drivers took turns to fulfill their own sporting dreams as Kerala legends Anju Bobby GeorgeThe long-standing record is lost in the sand. Anju’s 6.83m was set at the 2004 Athens Olympics.One is Ancy’s father, Sojan ET. Another, his childhood coach Sanoj VV – “Kannan Mash” to everyone in Nattika.No boys have made it past the district level as athletes, stuck because they are stuck in the traffic that is the lack of sporting opportunities in India. On Saturday, they found redemption with Ancy’s sublime 6.88m jump.“People laughed at me when I predicted in 2019 that Ancy will break Anju Bobby George’s record,” Ancy’s first ever coach told TOI, “He was barely 18 then. Look, now my prediction has come true.”Father Sojan, who is currently recovering from a minor accident suffered last week or when he was not by his daughter’s side, said, “I fulfilled my dream through my daughter. I couldn’t progress because we don’t have training facilities. But here she is now…

Ancy Sojan (TOI Photo)

Ancy is from Nattika’s lower-income Syrian Christian community. Money is scarce, which is why Sanoj takes passengers in his auto-rickshaw. “We were not doing well financially,” Sanoj recalls, “Our income depended on how much I earned driving my auto-rickshaw, and it varied from day to day.“This record is dedicated to my father,” said Ancy in Bhubaneswar, “He always said that we don’t have any record at the national level in the family. For him, this is a reward for all the trust he has given me and all the sacrifices he has made over the years.The Sojans include Jansy, 47, Ancy’s mother. The younger brother, Dominic, 24, is studying business administration while the youngest, Anjali, 20, intends to follow in her brother’s footsteps as a long jumper.Not far away, Sanoj, like Sojan, a district-level gold medalist in the high jump, had his sporting ambitions ended before it began. “I am not a trained coach myself. I started my academy for new athletes like Ancy, so that I can pass on my experience to them,” revealed Sanoj.Sanoj first realized Andy’s potential when he was a teenager. “At the U-14 State School Games in 2015, Ancy jumped 4.93-m to win bronze. It was remarkable because she was still small then, just 13 years old,” he recalled.In 2019, Ancy burst into the national athletics consciousness, registering a 6.26-m jump at the National School Athletics Meet in Punjab’s Sangrur.After Ancy’s record-breaking jump in Bhubaneswar on Saturday, Sanoj noticed what some long jump experts might not have. “Till a year back, Ancy’s take-off extension had an issue. Not on Saturday. It was flawless,” he added.Sojan reckons her daughter has yet to reach her full potential. “He is not 100% there yet,” he said, “He needs to improve his jump and hold time. But I am proud of him for breaking a 22-year-old national record set by Anju. He can now break the 7-m mark,” he added.Sanoj agreed. “I believe he can cross the 7-meter barrier,” he said.Anju, the OG, knew this would happen. “I am proud of her… watching her jump with a smile on my face. High jump has always been a Malayalee specialty. Proud that a Keralite has broken my record,” Anju said before leaving for Bengaluru to meet the new star.Young Ancy also believes that 7-m will be reached.“Anju ma’am told me, ‘It doesn’t exist. You broke the record, but now you have to keep it steady and win medals at the World Championships and Olympics. This is a world-class jump, and soon we will move to 7-m,’ “said a breathless Ancy.The 25-year-old, for a long time the third best long jumper in the country behind Anju proteges Shaili Singh and Lakshadweep’s Mubassina Mohammed, will be chasing the 7-m. It had been on his mind for a while, but it required some technical changes.“I had some issues with my landing. My legs reached the right position, but my body did not follow correctly. After that, I worked on my landing technique with the hanging bar and other drills, and that helped me reach 6.75m,” he said.Progress should be gradual. And smart.“If I suddenly try more than 7m, it will affect my jump. Right now, we are focusing on increasing my consistency,” said the Asian Games silver medalist, “The 6.70m range should be my minimum level. It will happen. I’m more confident about that now. “Ancy’s record leap is a testament to the fact that while sporting talent can emerge anywhere, it usually comes from humble backgrounds in India. And as in Ancy’s case, it can even be nurtured by two autorickshaw-plying men who once harbored similar dreams.