Murali Sreeshankar grabbed headlines on Thursday as he became the only 4th Indian to win a medal in the Long jump for India at the Commonwealth Games. The 23-year-old athlete missed his flight to the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. And injuries kept him aside from active participation in the sport.
However, the youngster managed to make it to the Tokyo Olympics 2020 but failed to perform well. And the athlete had to deliver it once again for India at the Commonwealth Games 2022 yesterday. In the men’s long jump final at Commonwealth Games 2022, Sreeshankar made an initial jump of 7.60m. It was well below his par and the athlete never gave up.
Sreeshankar climbed to 7.84m in his second attempt and further in the third attempt. He made a foul jump in the fourth attempt. With expectations mounting and the memories of the Tokyo Olympics haunting, the young athlete made it in the fifth attempt. With a jump of 8.08m, Sreeshankar bagged the silver medal for India in the Birmingham event. Euphoria was all around and the ground stood up once again to applaud the youngster.
While speaking of the same to India Today, the long jump athlete told that he was happy with silver. The 23-year-old added that he aimed higher and wanted to win the Gold for India in the next Commonwealth Games.
“Ups and downs are an integral part of a sportsman’s life. It’s important that an athlete faces challenges and overcomes it. Patience is the key, we have to trust our process,” Sreeshankar told India Today.
“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. I am very happy. The competition was also very tough, the gold medal was also won with 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,” the 23-year-old added.
The star added that he was ‘happy’ to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games for India. However, he added that he wants to win gold next time. “I am happy with silver, but I will keep working hard. Next time, I want to win Gold,” Sreeshankar concluded.
