India at CWG 2022: Murali Sreeshankar wants to set the record straight after ‘painful’ memories of 2018-Sports News , Firstpost

India’s long jumper M Sreeshankar jumped 8m during the World Athletics Championships qualification event to qualify for the final. AP

Kolkata: India’s long jump prodigy Murali Sreeshankar has a score to settle at the upcoming Commonwealth Games as the 23-year-old young man was forced to miss the 2018 edition due to appendicitis.

In fact, this is one of the few remaining major competitions that the national record holder (8.36 metre) is yet to compete in and comes after his maiden appearance at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon. He finished seventh at the biennial event with a 7.95m jump after registering 8m in qualifying.

This had naysayers raising fingers at his performance as this was far from his personal and season best, achieved in May during the Federation Cup, with China’s Wang Jianan winning gold – incidentally with a jump of 8.36m. However, a closer look at his performance suggested that Sreeshankar’s reaching the final was a step in the right direction.  His 8m and 7.96m jumps in Oregon were his best show distance-wise at a big-ticket event. His 7.95m for a fourth spot at the 2018 Asian Games remains his closest to a major medal.

It was in fact a massive improvement on his Tokyo Olympics showing. Last year he mustered 7.69m during the qualification round to finish 24th. To add to his misery, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) removed his father S Murali as his personal coach.

Speaking to Firstpost a few days earlier from Chula Vista, where the Indian athletes camped for 10 days before the Oregon showdown, World No 13 felt in much better shape now than last year.

“Last year was a nightmare even before I left for Tokyo,” said Sreeshankar. “I had to face a lot of outside pressure but this season I was able to handle all of that well with my father (a former triple jumper) back as my coach. We had a strong pre-season and that has been reflected in our results. Apart from that, my learning from the Olympics was not to be distracted by outside factors before a major competition and I feel I have done that so far this season. I am confident of another big jump soon,” said Sreeshankar.

The performances in 2022 suggest just that. He’s had 8.0m-plus jumps on eight occasions now while his national record jump (8.36m) is the second best in the world this season. While in the past, 8-plus jumps were often found wanting, the athlete announced his arrival in big leagues with multiple big jumps. He jumped above 8.15m-plus thrice this season (8.18, 8.31m and 8.23m) and his last big jump was 8.23m at the National Inter-States last June. 

Sreeshankar credited the increase in the quality of domestic competitions with the advent of the likes of Muhammed Anees Yahiya and Jeswin Aldrin during the season. Aldrin jumped a wind-assisted 8.37m (not eligible for any record) followed by 8.26m while Yahiya was consistent with three 8.15m jumps in the season.

“The quality of competition at home was really good this year. Both Anees and Jeswin pushed me to bring out my best during the national event and allowed me to prepare better for the two major competitions (Worlds and CWG) this season,” said Sreeshankar.

Anees will also compete with his compatriot in Birmingham after a modest 7.73 jump in Oregon. Aldrin, however, will have to make peace with his 7.79m effort on Worlds debut as he couldn’t make the cut for CWG.

Sreeshankar favourite for gold medal

The CWG gold medal favourite tag will remain with Sreeshankar on his Games debut as his 8.36m effort is the best among the lot. To those concerned about his lack of big jumps, the Kerala man still remains ahead of the rivals that will compete at the Commonwealth Games.

Australia’s Christopher Mitrevski and Bahamas’ LaQuan Nairn (both with season bests of 8.22m) are the closest. The duo, however, couldn’t go beyond the qualification round at the World Athletics Championships.

Also in the fray would be the South African duo of Jovan Van Vuuren and Cheswill Johnson, who also disappointed at the worlds with a below-par showing despite jumping above 8.10m earlier in the season.

With the competition quality taking a slump with the recent form of the rivals, many jumpers will fancy their chances of winning a medal as it may come down to one good jump on the day to seal the top honour.

This opens up chances for Jamaica’s Wayne Pinnock (SB 8.14m) and Australia’s Henry Frayne (8.10m), who came the closest to Sreeshankar in Oregon with 7.99m and 7.98m jumps respectively.

Aware of his rivals, Sreeshankar said he was taking nothing for granted knowing that numbers mean little in foreign conditions.

“All athletes want to perform their best at big events but things are never that easy. Several or just one factor may spoil the day for you. That’s why I don’t like to take any rivals for granted as things like just one wind-assisted jump may decide the gold medal,” said Sreeshankar.

Remembering the painful memories of missing out on the Commonwealth Games in 2018 due to appendicitis, Sreeshankar said that being at CWG makes it special because of that but it isn’t any more special than his Olympics goals.

“It’s really special to be part of the CWG team finally because I really wanted to compete last time. I was really young and was really eager to compete at these events but Paris Olympics remains the ultimate goal and events like World Championships and CWG will only help me get there in the best shape,” concluded Sreeshankar.

Note: Sreeshankar gave this interview days before the World Athletics Championships

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