Eldhose Paul and Abdulla Aboobacker on the podium at CWG 2022

CWG 2022: Building on the tradition, India’s triple jumpers win gold and silver in Birmingham

When three Indian triple jumpers were chasing podium finishes at the Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2022 on Sunday, they were simply on the road to upholding the country’s tradition of winning medals in the event.

Eldhose Paul led India’s 1-2 finish in Birmingham. With a jump of 17.03m, Paul won the gold medal, while Abdulla Aboobacker claimed silver with a distance of 17.02m.

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Bermuda’s Jah-Nhal Perinchief took home bronze with a jump of 16.92m. Praveen Chithravel just missed out on making it a clean sweep for India with a fourth-place finish, with 16.89m.

All three Indians had achieved the Commonwealth Games qualifying standard of 16.56m at the 61st National Inter-State Athletics Championships in Chennai on June 14. All three were considered to have the potential to win a medal in Birmingham.

Many congratulations to Eldhose Paul & Abdulla Aboobacker who created history and made the country proud by winning Gold 🥇 and silver🥈in Men's Triple Jump at #CommonwealthGames2022
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Paul’s thin frame resembles that of elite distance runners, but on Sunday, he proved to be the best triple jumper in the country. Earlier this year, in April, at the National Federation Cup Athletics Championships, his best jump was 16.99m. He covered a larger distance to win the gold on Sunday.

“My main goal was to break 17m-barrier,” an elated Paul said. “I’m happy to have achieved that result with a gold medal.”
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Indian triple jumpers have also excelled in the previous editions of CWG. The current batch of jumpers were expected to carry that legacy forward in Birmingham. They did that, winning two medals, including the gold, for the first time.

India's history of success in triple jump events at CWG

𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙖 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙖 𝙬𝙖𝙮!

Eldhose Paul with his 🥇, Abdulla Aboobacker with his 🥈 & Praveen Chithravel with a 4th place finish in the Men’s Triple Jump at @birminghamcg22 have just done the unthinkable
#EkIndiaTeamIndia #B2022

Way back in 1970, at the Edinburgh Commonwealth Games, Indian Olympian and former national record holder Mohinder Singh Gill had claimed bronze. Four years later, he won silver at the CWG in Christchurch.

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Gill’s best performance of 16.79m came in 1971 in California, USA. Gill’s national record stood for more than three decades before Renjith Maheshwary etched his name in the record books.

Maheshwary also won bronze at the 2010 Delhi CWG with a jump of 17.07m. He was the first Indian to enter the 17m club. Maheshwary also holds a national record of 17.30m set in 2016.

At the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, it was Arpinder Singh's turn to maintain the Indian tradition of having podium finishes in the triple jump arena. He won bronze. Arpinder Singh, however, finished fourth at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

All three Indian jumpers who were in action on Sunday didn’t have a good run at the World Athletics Championships, held in Oregon, USA, between July 15-24. However, they were determined to improve their performance in Birmingham.

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Edited by
Akshay Saraswat
 
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