Long jump

U20 Asian Athletics Championships: Sport is in Pavana Nagaraj’s blood and it is just as well that she drew upon the solid backing and advice of her athlete parents on her way to victory in the women’s Long Jump competition in the U20 Asian Athletics Championships in Dubai recently.

The 18-year-old Pavana Nagaraj, daughter of women’s National High Jump record holder Sahana Kumari and 2010 National Inter-State men’s 100m champion BG Nagaraj, won the Asian u20 gold with a personal best Long Jump of 6.32m. It came on the back of Sahana Kumari’s nudge that made Pavana Nagaraj focus more on Long Jump after having started as a high jumper.

The transition to long jump came along with her training as a Heptahlete. Sahana Kumari, who is a SAI coach, revealed she wants her daughter to stick to multi-event competition. “We want her to be in multi events so that her overall development is taken care of. This is what this generation is lacking. They are focusing on just one discipline,” she told SAI media.