Indian Open: Aditya Kumar Singh trumps returning Jeswin Aldrin to claim long jump gold

Participating in his first event since the 2024 Paris Olympics, much was expected from long jumper Jeswin Aldrin.

The 23-year-old, however, failed to deliver, finishing seventh after pulling a hamstring in the Indian Open athletics meet at the Nehru Stadium here on Tuesday.

Aditya Kumar Singh (23 years) from Varanasi stunned the field to bag the gold in the men’s long jump with a leap of 7.74m. Jeswin, the National Record holder, jumped 7.36m in his first attempt, fouling his remaining three attempts, not attempting his fifth and again fouling in his sixth and final turn.

“I was looking forward to the event but during warm-up, I developed the pain,” Jeswin said.

In another major upset of the day, Yashvir Singh of Railways won the gold in men’s javelin throw with a heave of 77.49m, shading the effort of Kishore Jena, the silver medallist of the 2022 Asian Games. Kishore finished second with a throw of 75.99m.

Participating in the men’s shot put despite a back issue, favourite Tejinderpal Singh Toor won gold in the event with a single throw of 17.61m. After his first attempt, Tajinder fouled the next two while deciding not to throw in his remaining three throws.

In the men’s 400m, favourite Amoj Jacob pulled out midway through the final, citing a hamstring injury, while Muhammed Anas, the reigning National record holder, ran the heats but chose not to run the final.