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India's leading long jumper, Jeswin Aldrin, who holds the national record and also leads the world rankings for the season, has made a heartbreaking decision. He has announced his withdrawal from the upcoming Diamond League event, scheduled for Lausanne, Switzerland, on June 30.
The decision came into the spotlight after the young athlete recently competed at the National Inter-State Championships in Bhubaneswar. He finished second behind his compatriot Murali Sreeshankar with a jump of 7.98m, which outperformed the Asian Games qualifying criteria of a jump of 7.95m.
In his statements, Aldrin mentioned his incomplete and ongoing recovery as the reason to pull out of the event. As per a source close to PTI:
"Aldrin is out of Lausanne Diamond League as he is not 100 percent fit. He wants to spend more time to achieve full fitness."
Jeswin Aldrin wanted to save his place for Asian Games
Aldrin, who suffered from COVID-19 earlier in the season, had expressed his intention to be part of the National Inter-State Championships to 'save' his position for the Asian Games. After the event, he said:
"I was in not in great shape in this competition. I just wanted to save my place for the Asian Games. That was the plan and I did that."
It is pertinent to mention here that on Thursday, the long jumper was named among the 54-member Indian team for the Asian Championships.
These championships are all set to take place in Bangkok from July 12th to 16th, 2023. However, Aldrin can be doubtful about the continental event too, considering his incomplete recovery.
Note that despite his world-leading jump of 8.42m, Aldrin admits the need to put his recovery first. On this matter, he was quoted as saying:
"There was more pain in the groin, so I just planned to stop."
Nevertheless, he is still optimistic about his future performances, willing to return to the climax and commence pushing boundaries in the game of the long jump.
