Basant Kumar Meghwal‘s silver in the high jump and Shahnavaz Khan‘s bronze in the long jump marked a landmark moment for India at the World Athletics U20 Championships 2026, taking the country’s medal tally in Eugene, Oregon to three.
On Saturday, Basant Kumar Meghwal became the first Indian athlete to win a high jump medal at the World Athletics U20 Championships, equalling a personal-best 2.21m.
The 19-year-old Basant had previously cleared the same height at the Junior Federation Cup in Bengaluru in April.
At the Asian U20 Athletics Championships in May, Basant cleared 2.20m for the gold medal in Hong Kong China.
Basant Meghwal opened his campaign in Eugene with a first-attempt clearance of 2.06m, then needed two attempts to clear 2.12m. He then cleared 2.17m at the first time of asking and matched his personal best of 2.21m on his second attempt.
He failed to clear 2.24m in all three attempts but his 2.21m effort was enough to secure silver on countback and earn India a historic medal in the event.
“In the last attempt at 2.24, I was a bit nervous, but it’s okay,” Basant told Olympics.com. “I will do better next time in senior competitions now.”
Algeria’s Younes Ayachi won the gold medal, while Great Britain’s Otis Poole bagged the bronze, with all three athletes succeeding at 2.21m but failing to clear 2.24m.
Younes Ayachi won gold on countback, clearing 2.21m on his first try, while Basant Meghwal and Otis Poole cleared the same height on their second and third attempts, respectively.
Meanwhile, Shahnavaz Khan, also an U20 Asian champion, became the first Indian man to win a long jump medal at the World Athletics U20 Championships after securing bronze with a best effort of 7.84m.
read more: https://www.olympics.com/en/news/world-athletics-u20-championships-2026-india-high-long-jump-medal-report
