Anju George slips in rankings

A long lay-off from the international circuit has resulted in Anju Bobby George slipping one spot to joint eighth in the latest IAAF women's long jump rankings.

The lanky Keralite, who has been nursing a heel injury for the past few months, has had a forgettable time this season. She could not repeat her performances of last year, most notably a silver medal at the World Athletics finals, which catapulted her to number four in the world rankings.

The ace athlete will make her return at the South Asian Federation Games in Colombo, which could be a good platform for her to get into the groove for the Athletics World Cup in Greece this September and the Doha Asian Games in December.

The long jump rankings are dominated by the Russians with Tatyana Kotova leading compatriots Oksana Udmurtova and Tatyana Lebedeva in the first three places.

Commonwealth Games champion Bronwyn Thompson holds on to the fourth place ahead of another Russian Lyudmila Kolchanova, who gains one place to fifth.

Portuguese Naide Gomes climbs three notches to sixth while American Grace Upshaw profits one spot to seventh.

Japan's Kumiko Ikeda gains three places to be tied eighth with Anju.

Spaniard Concepcion Montaner jumps four spots to 10th, while American Tianna Madison falls six places to 11th.

India's Vikas Gowda fell two spots to 26th in the men's discus throw rankings and Manjeet Kaur lost an equal number of places in the women's 400m charts to be 40th.