Commonwealth Games 2022 athletics: Murali Sreeshankar wins historic silver medal in long jump
It was India’s first-ever silver medal in the men’s long jump at the Commonwealth Games. Suresh Babu had won a bronze medal at Edmonton 1978.
India’s Murali Sreeshankar won the silver medal in the men’s long jump at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham, UK on Thursday.
The 23-year-old Murali Sreeshankar, who holds India’s national record of 8.36m, managed a best jump of 8.08m from his six attempts at the Alexander Stadium to clinch a historic podium finish for India.
Gold medallist Laquan Nairn of Bahamas also carded the same best distance but won the top podium as his second-best jump of 7.98m was more than that of Sreeshankar’s 7.84m. South Africa’s Jovan van Vuuren won the bronze with 8.06m.
It was India’s first-ever silver medal in the men’s long jump event at the Commonwealth Games. Suresh Babu, who won a bronze medal at Edmonton 1978, is the only other Indian men’s long jumper to have medalled at the CWG.
It was also India’s fourth long jump medal at the Commonwealth Games. Women’s jumpers Prajusha Maliakkal (silver at New Delhi 2010) and Anju Bobby George (bronze at Manchester 2002) are the other two medallists.
"This medal has been a long time coming. I have been waiting for a global medal for a very long time, but I kept missing out. This is a small step towards my big goal of the Paris 2024 Olympics and I’m working towards that,” said M Sreeshankar.
Muhammed Anees Yahiya, younger brother of 400m national record holder Muhammed Anas Yahiya, meanwhile, finished a credible fifth with a 7.97m best jump.
Coming into the final as a gold medal favourite after topping the qualifiers with an 8.05m leap, Murali Sreeshankar struggled to hit his stride and managed 7.60m with his first attempt.
The Tokyo Olympian’s second and third attempts measured an identical 7.84m and put him in the sixth position after the initial three rounds, after which the bottom four jumpers dropped out. The remaining eight got three additional attempts to better their standings.
Muhammed Anees Yahiya also just about managed to sneak into the top eight after the cut-off round with a 7.72m jump, which came in his third attempt.
Murali Sreeshanker seemed to have produced a jump which would take him to the top of the leaderboard with his fourth effort, but unfortunately for the Indian, it was ruled out as he had overstepped the take-off board by a mere cm.
Unperturbed, Murali Sreeshankar came back for his fifth jump and produced an 8.08m attempt - the same as leader Laquan Nairn.
With their second-best attempts making the difference on the leaderboard, the Indian fouled his final attempt and had to settle for silver.
"I was not 100 per cent today. I was much better in the qualifiers two days ago. I was struggling with my rhythm, but I’m just so happy I could win a medal for my country,” M Sreeshankar stated.