CWG 2026: Murali Sreeshankar, Lokesh Sathyanathan boost India's medal hopes with final berths

In a series of big events, India received a major boost in the hope of extending its medal tally, as star long jumper Murali Sreeshankar booked his place in the men's long jump final with a brilliant first-attempt leap of 8.01 in Group A. The jump comfortably breached the automatic qualification standard of 8.00m, securing his place in the medal round, which is set to take place on July 29.

The top 12 athletes, who cleared the automatic qualifying mark of 8.00m, reached the final of the event. Sreeshankar met the compulsory benchmark without any discomfort with his opening jump and will aim to better the silver medal he won at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games. The 27-year-old, who enjoyed a brilliant season from an injury, goes into the final with a season's best of 8.38m.

When did Sreeshankar endure injury?

Sreeshankar endured a career-threatening ruptured patellar tendon in April 2024 due to which he was forced to miss the Paris Olympics later that year. The Indian long jumper has worked very hard to find his form, recording a season best of 8.38 m at the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championship in Bhubaneswar in June.

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Big win for Lokesh Sathyanathan

At the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2026, India received another boost in men's long jump as Lokesh Sathayanathan also reached the final. While Murali Sreeshankar was the only athlete to grab the automatic qualification by breaching the required benchmark of 8.00m, Lokesh claimed his place by finishing among the top 12 with a best leap of 7.77m, ensuring India will have two candidates in the medal round.

Good news for Tejas Shirse

The top three performers from each heat, along with the next two fastest athletes overall, earned qualification for the final scheduled later on Monday, July 27. On the other hand, England's Samuel Bennett emerged as the top qualifier, topping both his heat and overall standings with an amazing time of 13.20 seconds.

Notably, Shirse registered a record of 13.27 seconds at the Indian Athletics Series 9 in Ludhiana last month, Tejas Shirse will now aim to carry his form into the finals as well as he looks for a podium finish and hopes to add another medal to India's tally at the ongoing CWG.