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Getting into good rhythm at the right time, coupled with staying focused enabled India’s Murali Sreeshankar to etch his name in the record books at the Commonwealth Games 2022 late on Thursday evening (August 4) in Birmingham.
The Olympian became India’s first male long jumper to win a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games.
He bettered Suresh Babu's bronze medal-winning feat at the 1978 edition in Edmonton, Canada.
The elated jumper expressed his excitement at having won the first major long jump medal of the season. He said:
“I’m excited to have won my first major long jump medal of this season. But missing a gold by a whisker is difficult to believe.”
Sreeshankar's best jump in Birmingham was 8.08m, which put him in a tie with Laquan Nairn of the Bahamas for gold. But the second-best jumps of the athletes were taken into account during the countdown. Sreeshankar’s second-best effort was 7.84m compared to Nairn’s 7.98m.
Muhammed Anas, the other Indian in the fray, finished fifth with a best effort of 7.97m.
Sreeshankar didn't have the perfect start in the final
Sreeshankar started his campaign with a moderate jump of 7.60m. He improved to 7.84m in his second and third attempts. The fourth attempt was deemed a foul as he stepped on the take-off board.
However, he got his rhythm right in the fifth. A good take-off and smooth landing at the 8.08m mark put him in contention for a podium finish. The long-jumper's efforts to further improve on the fifth jump ended in despair as the sixth and final jump too was declared foul.
Winning a silver medal in Birmingham will put to an end his frustration of missing the podium finish on the world's biggest stage. Earlier this year, Sreeshankar finished seventh at the Belgrade World Indoor Championships in Serbia, followed by a similar performance at the World Athletics Championships in the USA.
Getting into the right momentum was one of the keys to cap the season with a brilliant run in England.
Sreeshankar added:
“I love reading local magazines and books before going to sleep. It keeps me from staying away from distractions.”
Indeed, staying focused on the highly competitive cut throat circuit is a must for an athlete to be able to perform at the optimum level.
As for failing to register more than 8m at the World Athletics Championships, he said:
“Sometimes getting into good rhythm is a challenge.”
The national record holder in men’s long jump finally got the monkey off his back in Birmingham to cross the 8m mark and win silver at the Commonwealth Games. He was selected for the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, but pulled out due to a ruptured appendix.
