World Athletics Championships 2022: India’s star long jumper Murali Sreeshankar fails to take off in Eugene’s weather

India’s Tokyo Olympian and national record holder in men’s long jump, Murali Sreeshankar, failed to tackle Eugene’s chilly weather on Saturday evening during the final of the men’s long jump competition at the 2022 World Athletics Championships.

This was despite the fact that the Indian contingent for the Eugene World Athletics Championships were in Chula Vista for two weeks to acclimatize to local weather conditions.

After finishing seventh in a field of 12 finalists, the 22-year-old complained of chilly weather during the medal round.

“I wasn’t able to adapt to the situation. It was chilly and my body wasn’t responding,” Sreeshankar said in a post-event interaction with Sportskeeda.

Weather and nerves combine to derail Murali Sreeshankar's bid

With an opening jump of 7.96m, the Indian athlete was atop the field. However, as the competition progressed, Murali Sreeshankar couldn’t steady himself during his take-off, which eventually spoiled his flight and landing in the jumping pit.

He looked nervous on the giant screen at Hayward Field, but denied that he wilted under pressure.

“There was no pressure at all. The only thing that troubled me was the chilly weather during the competition. I couldn’t keep myself warm and wasn’t able to come close to my personal best of 8.36m."

Of the three preliminary jumps, his first jump was 7.96m, while the second and third were no mark as he overstepped the take-off board.

Sreeshankar’s performance further went down in the final three attempts. The Kerala international athlete looked like he was burdened with huge expectations of improving his national record of 8.36m set in April during a domestic competition in Kerala.

After the qualification round on Friday, where he recorded 8m to sail through to the final, he spoke about being mentally and physically tough after failing to impress at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games held last year in Japan. “I’m strong from inside,” he often repeated during media interactions.

The reason for not being able to deliver the goods at the right time, according to Murali Sreeshankar, is a lack of experience in international competitions. He believes more competition will help him prepare for next year’s Asian Games and the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

“To excel at the world level, we need to get more international exposure,” he added.

China’s Jianan Wang spoiled Tokyo Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglou's (Greece) party by sailing to a distance of 8.36m in his last round. Tentoglou's best performance of the day was 8.32m, which fetched him silver. Simon Ehammer of Switzerland took home bronze with a jump of 8.16m.