Asian Indoor Athletics: With Ancy by her side, Moumita looks to soar higher

When Moumita Mondal sprints down the runaway at Tuanbo Sports Center in Tianjin, China, on Sunday, eyeing to make a big leap during the long jump final of the Asian Indoor Athletics, among those who will be cheering her on is Ancy Sojan.
Besides being two of the best long jumpers in the country behind Shaili Singh at present, the two athletes from West Bengal and Kerala are very good friends who like to train and compete against each other and most importantly learn from each other.
“I feel like we both have the same vibes. I think she’s a good sprinter and whenever she is running, I watch her because I feel my technique is wrong,” said Ancy of Moumita, who will also compete in the 60m hurdles besides long jump at Asian Indoors to be held from Feb 6-8.
Moumita, meanwhile, tries to learn as much as possible from Ancy about the long jump. After all, the Thrissur-born athlete won a silver at the last Asian Games with a jump of 6.63m and with a personal best of 6.71m. She is third on the all-time India list.
Moumita, too, isn’t far behind. She has a PB of 6.45m — which she achieved last year during Fed Cup — and won gold at the national games in Dehradun. But she knows she can do even better.
“Usually, I practise long jumps only once a day in the week with Ancy and didn’t think about it much earlier. But now I guess I concentrate a bit more on this. Also, training with Ancy is special because we understand each other well and she helps me rectify my mistakes,” said Moumita, who has been training in Mumbai since 2023.
Thanks to their bonding, the girl from Jirat in Hooghly district believes they will both be able to give their best.
But the biggest challenge for them will be the fact that it’s their first indoors event and to acclimatise they trained at the Indoor Athletics centre in Bhubaneswar.
“When I did my jumps here for the first time, I felt like the runway was unstable and the jump was very flat. Outdoors, it was better than that. So, I need to adjust the runway by moving it forward and backward,” said Ancy after her first few sessions in Bhubaneswar.
Overall, she knows she can do even better and she will have to make some corrections to achieve that.
“I need to work on my runway, especially in the takeoff area. My stride length is getting long there, which is causing a lot of fouls. So, I need to get that right and also work on some posture correction,” added Ancy who trains under coach Anoop Joseph.
Meanwhile, Moumita is looking for a good show in the 60m hurdles, too, and she needs to make some technical adjustments for the same. “I get too close to the first hurdles which isn’t apt for a short heighted athlete like me, so I will have to work on that,” said the Bengal athlete, who has been carrying on despite an injury on her right shoulder which will need surgery.
In the longer run though, she wants to primarily focus on the long jump and is dreaming of a podium finish at the Asiad. She had missed the bus to Asian Athletics last year but wants to make a big impact in Asian Games, with friend Ancy by her side.