PTI
 
Colombo, Aug 26: World number eight Anju Bobby George expectedly bagged the gold in women's long jump in the South Asian Games here but the medal brought her little joy as she fell way below her personal best of 6.83m.

A clearance of 6.42m in the third attempt proved good enough for her to clinch the gold but then the rest of the field was little to write home about, a fact not lost on the Indian ace as was evident in her muted reaction to the victory.

"I am certainly not happy with my performance," she told reporters immediately after her event.

"I am competing for the first time since May," was all that she had to say after the disappointing show.

Anju, one of the very few high-profile athletes in the fray at the Games, was banking on a good performance here to book a ticket to the Athletics World Cup in Greece next month but all her hopes now are left in tatters.

The quadrennial extravaganza features continental teams competing in various events.

The best performer from their respective discipline gets to represent the continent in the elite event, and Anju's performance at the Sugathadasa Stadium today falls well below 6.86m by Japan's Kumiko Ikeda.

Anju, who won a silver at World Athletics Finals last year, is making a comeback to the international stage after sustaining a heel injury earlier this year.