India Claims Three Medals at World Athletics U20 Championships as Meghwal and Shahnavaz Shine

Eugene: India’s track and field athletes delivered a remarkable performance at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Eugene, Oregon, bringing the nation’s total medal tally to three. The standout moment came in the men’s high jump, where nineteen-year-old Basant Kumar Meghwal etched his name into the history books by earning a silver medal with a career-best clearance of 2.21 meters. Hailing from Anupgarh in Rajasthan’s Sri Ganganagar district, Meghwal became the first Indian high jumper to ever stand on the podium at the global U20 event, capping off a stellar season that also featured a gold medal win at the Asian U20 Athletics Championships.

The high jump final unfolded as a tense tiebreaker after all three potential medalists cleared 2.21 meters but failed to clear 2.24 meters in their three subsequent attempts. With no athlete advancing further, the podium was decided by a countback based on previous attempts at the 2.21-meter height. Algeria’s Younes Ayachi secured the gold medal by clearing the bar on his initial try. Meghwal took silver by clearing it on his second attempt, while Great Britain’s Otis Poole claimed bronze after needing all three attempts to clear the same height.

India’s success continued in the pit, where eighteen-year-old long jumper Shahnavaz earned a hard-fought bronze medal. In a tightly contested final, Shahnavaz steadily improved his mark across his initial jumps, opening with a 7.67-meter leap and following it up with 7.72 meters before hitting his competition-best mark of 7.84 meters on his third try. Although his remaining jumps reached 7.52 meters, 7.83 meters, and 5.37 meters, his third-round mark was more than enough to lock in a place on the podium behind Italy’s Daniele Inzoli, who took gold with a 7.97-meter jump, and Australia’s Mason McGroder, who captured silver with a personal-best effort of 7.96 meters. India's other long jump finalist, R.C. Jithin Arjunan, placed eighth after recording a best effort of 7.69 meters on both his first and fourth attempts.

Shahnavaz’s bronze added to an impressive overall showing for the Indian contingent in Eugene. Ashish Yadav had previously opened India’s medal count on Friday with a silver medal in the men’s javelin throw, laying the groundwork for Meghwal and Shahnavaz to push the team's final total to three medals.