New Delhi: For long-jumper Shaili Singh, the real triumph isn’t just about what she does on the track but about learning to trust her body again. The 21-year-old’s recent performances include breaking a Federation Cup meet record held by her mentor Anju Bobby George for 23-year-old with a 6.64m jump.

With the gold-medal winning jump, she qualified for the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships set to be held in Gumi, South Korea in May, she has signaled a strong return but is now focused on building from the silver medal she won in 2023 with a 6.54m leap.

Shaili had 6.59m to set a junior national record and won a silver medal at the Junior World Championships in Nairobi. In 2023, she improved on the national record at the Indian Grand Prix with a 6.76m leap. But this is her first record as a senior.

Along with coach Robert Bobby George, the Uttar Pradesh jumper worked on her technique at the runway ahead of the Federation Cup.

“It’s not that much better now but it can be done, and in training now, we are mostly working on the runway and what’s missing in the technique.”

Before she heads to Gumi, she will be featuring in the UAE Grand Prix on May 9 and UAE Athletics Women’s Gala on May 11 to build confidence and there are a couple of things that she would like to do differently.

“I would first get rid of the pressure I have been putting on myself. I recently discovered that about myself, so I am working on it.”

However, the path back to form has been as much mental as physical. Her injury-ravaged career has seen her deal with a lower spine stress fracture, a recurring niggle in her left ankle and a hip flexor injury.

Sometimes, those days, where she was forced to watch from the sidelines, also spilled into her dreams but she anchored herself. She believes a large part of her recovery was visual.

“Coach George once told me to stand at the start of the runway and imagine a perfect run, take-off and jump. It was recorded in the mind when I return to the field,” she said.

Her physiotherapist, Zeba Saifi, also encouraged it, especially during her back fracture. “She told me to visualise and believe that it is healing. And it did help me.”

Although her return to the podium is helping her rebuild confidence, there are still doubts. When they do surface, Shaili turns to her mother, Vinita, for support.

“She pushes me a little bit, saying that I can’t always be like this. But when you are down, no one can do anything. You need motivation. Whatever my target is, I just keep repeating to myself, ‘Continue, continue’.”

Despite the setbacks, she is strengthening her mind and her body again and there’s an energy she is now tapping into as she trains.

“Before I enter the gym, I keep the intent that we’ll get it done today. The lift has to be clean; it must be the best. So, there’s a spark that I’ll do it. It’s the same for the jumps. There should be no doubts.”

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