Colombo: India's ace long jumper Anju Bobby George on Friday won the gold medal with ease at the South Asian Federation Games, but said she was not happy with her rhythm and the effort of 6.42 metres.
Returning to competitive athletics after an injury-induced three-month layoff, Anju, however, proved much superior to Bangladesh's Foujia Huda, who cleared 6.07 metres, and Sri Lanka's N C D Priyadarshini, who crossed 5.94m at the Sugathadasa Stadium.
Anju bettered the seven-year-old games record of 6.37 m set by her compatriot G G Pramila at the Kathmandu games.
Jointly ranked eighth in the world, Anju won the gold with her third jump but said she faced problems and could not hit the wooden board every time.
"I was not in my rhythm and thus I was not getting the board. I was not consistent on the runway. Probably my long layoff was a factor," reasoned Anju, whose personal best remains 6.83m.
Anju said she was satisfied with her preparation, done under her coach-cum-husband Bobby George, a former India triple jumper.
"But there is a big difference between training and actual competition.
"I am not happy with myself at all. I had trained well and had been clearing 6.80m in training. I had aimed for 6.7 metres today," she said.
Anju, who cleared 6.46m at her last competition, the Pune Grand Prix in May, however, had no problem with the weather. Nor did she blame the poor competition at games for being less motivated and inspired.
She said her recent non-inclusion in the Asian squad for the World Cup Athletics in Greece next month was not a reason for her performance.
The Kerala athlete also fared poorly at Melbourne Commonwealth Games in March when she cleared 6.54m for a sixth-place finish.
About her injury, Anju said she has fully recovered from the injury in her right ankle.
"There was no problem today. I came here to test myself. I will now go back and train in Bangalore for the Doha Asian Games in December," she said.
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