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 the women’s long jump on Saturday, it shook awake Nattika, a tiny fishing hamlet in Kerala’s Thrissur district.Some 2,000 km away from the sand pit in Bhubaneswar where she had landed with 6.88m, two local auto-rickshaw drivers vicariously fulfilling their own sporting dreams as Kerala legend Anju Bobby George’s long-standing record disappeared into the sand. Anju’s 6.83m was set at the 2004 Athens Olympics.One was Ancy’s father, Sojan ET. The other, her childhood coach Sanoj VV — “Kannan Mash” to all in Nattika.Neither men made it beyond the district level as athletes, stuck as they were in the traffic snarl that is the lack of opportunities in Indian sport. On Saturday, they were finding redemption through Ancy’s majestic 6.88m leap.“People laughed at me when I predicted in 2019 that Ancy would break Anju Bobby George’s record,” Ancy’s earliest coach told TOI, “She was barely 18 then. See, today my prediction has come true.”Father Sojan, currently recovering from a minor mishap suffered last week or else he would have been by his daughter’s side, said, “I am living my dream through my daughter. I could not progress because we didn’t have the facilities to train. But here she is now…”

Ancy Sojan (TOI Photo)

Ancy hails from Nattika’s lower-income Syrian Christian community. Money was scarce, leading Sanoj to ferry passengers in his auto-rickshaw. “We are not financially well off,” remembered Sanoj, “Our income depends on how much I earn from driving my auto-rickshaw, and it varies from day to day. Right now, I am recovering from an injury, so it has affected our earnings.”“This record is dedicated to my father,” Ancy said in Bhubaneswar, “He would often say that we didn’t have any record at the national level in the family. For him, this is a reward for all the trust he placed in me and all the sacrifices he made over the years. This is my way of giving something back to him and making him proud.”The Sojans comprise Jansy, 47, Ancy’s homemaker-mother. Younger son Dominic, 24, is studying business administration while the youngest, Anjali, 20, aims to follow in her sister’s footsteps as a long jumper.Not far, Sanoj, like Sojan, was a district-level gold medallist in high jump, sporting ambitions ended before they began. “I am not a trained coach myself. I began my academy for budding athletes like Ancy, so I could pass on my experience to them,” Sanoj revealed.Sanoj first realised Andy’s potential when she was just a teen. “At the U-14 State School Games in 2015, Ancy jumped to 4.93-m to win bronze. It was remarkable considering she was so tiny back then, just 13 years,” he recalled.In 2019, Ancy burst onto the national athletics consciousness, registering a 6.26-m jump at the National School Athletics Meet in Punjab’s Sangrur.Following Ancy’s record-breaking leap in Bhubaneswar on Saturday, Sanoj noticed what some experts in long jump may have missed. “Till a year back, Ancy’s take-off extension had an issue. Not on Saturday. It was flawless,” he elaborated.Sojan reckoned that his daughter is yet to reach her full potential. “She is not 100% there yet,” he said, “She needs to improve her jump and holding time. But I’m proud of her for erasing a 22-year-old national record set by Anju. She can now breach the 7-m mark,” he added.Sanoj agreed. “I believe she can cross the 7-m barrier,” he said.Anju, the OG, knows it will happen. “I am proud of her…watched her jump with a smile on my face. Long jump has always been a Malayalee speciality. Proud that a Keralite broke my record,” Anju said before leaving Bengaluru to meet the new star.Young Ancy too believes that the 7-m is within reach.“Anju ma’am told me, ‘This is nothing. You’ve broken the record, but now you have to keep doing it consistently and win medals at the World Championships and Olympics. This is a world-class jump, and soon we are moving towards 7-m,’” a breathless Ancy said.The 25-year-old, for long the country’s third-best long jumper behind Anju proteges Shaili Singh and Lakshadweep’s Mubassina Mohammed, will be chasing the 7-m. It has been on her mind for some time, but that demands a few technical adjustments.“I had some issues with my landing. My legs were reaching the right position, but my body wasn’t following properly. After that, I worked on my landing technique using the hanging bar and other drills, and that helped me reach 6.75m,” she said.Progression has to be gradual. And smart.“If I suddenly try too much for 7m, it could affect my jump. Right now, we are focusing on raising my consistency,” said the Asian Games silver medallist, “The 6.70m range should become my minimum level. It will happen. I’m much more confident about that now.”Ancy’s record jump is testament to the fact that while sporting talent can emerge from anywhere, it is usually from the modest backgrounds of India. And as in Ancy’s case, it can even be nurtured by two autorickshaw-plying men who once harboured similar dreams.