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Working hard has been the motto for Indian long jumper Murali Sreeshankar — alongside patience. He should have made his Commonwealth Games (CWG) debut in Gold Coast in 2018 at the young age of 19, but he sustained a ruptured appendix weeks before the Games and had to undergo surgery. It was a life-threatening setback for the young long jumper, who comes from a family of athletes in Palakkad.
He worked on himself, and eventually qualified for the Tokyo Olympics with a national record of 8.26m, but was unable to reach the final, finishing 24th with a best attempt of 7.69m.
At the ongoing Games, he reached the men’s long jump final with a jump of 8.05m but was unable to portray his best form
His 4th attempt, which would have been in excess of 8m, was deemed foul by a millimetre but Sreeshankar jumped 8.08m in his 5th and penultimate attempt in the final, which won him the silver.
It is his first medal at a major multi-sport event, and is only the fourth Indian after Suresh Babu, who won a bronze in the 1978 edition, Prajusha Maliakkal won a silver in the 2010 edition in Delhi and Anju Bobby George who bagged a bronze in 2002.
“Ups and downs are an integral part of a sportsman’s life. It’s important that an athlete faces challenges and overcomes them. Patience is the key, we have to trust our process,” Sreeshankar told Sports Tak in an exclusive interview after his silver-clinching effort. “Not everyone wins medals at world championships or Commonwealth Games in their first attempt. It’s a long process. It takes time. Athletics is so tough now. We have to be patient and trust the process, the medal will come,” he added.
See the full interview here:
'Conditions were challenging'
Sreeshankar explained that the conditions during the final were difficult to get used to, adding that the tailwind and the chilly weather in Birmingham were making it harder.
“I am very happy. The competition was also very tough, the gold medal was also won with an 8.08m jump. The weather conditions were a bit challenging. There was a problem with the tailwind also. After 3 rounds, it was getting colder. I was having a problem with my rhythm. During the qualifying rounds, I was in a good rhythm and did 8.05m even while jumping from behind the take-off board.
There was a bit of pressure and my technique was also not that great thus my first jump was well behind what I wanted to achieve. The 4th jump was a good jump but by a very small margin it became foul,” he added.
'Have one unfulfilled dream'
With an elusive medal finally under his belt, Sreeshankar is now hungry for more. The young long jumper said that the Birmingham medal will only motivate him to work harder and get more accolades for India. “I am happy with silver, but I will keep working hard. Next time, I want to win Gold. I have one unfulfilled dream. I was hoping to win a medal at the World Championships as well. If I had given my best, I would have at least won a bronze medal but I wasn’t able to perform well at the World Championships.
“I am happy that I was able to win a medal for the country at the Commonwealth Games,” Sreeshankar said.
