Top Indian long jumper Murali Sreeshankar cleared 8.09m to finish third in the Paris Diamond League 2023 in France on Saturday. He achieved podium in this prestigious competition for the first time. Commonwealth Games silver medalist Sreeshankar produced the best jump of the day in his third attempt on Friday night.

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Sreeshankar is only the third Indian to secure a podium position in the Paris Diamond League 2023 event. Before him, Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra and discus thrower Vikas Gowda have achieved podium positions in the Diamond League. Sreeshankar's effort of 8.09m was below his current season's best of 8.18m. He had won gold with this distance in Greece last month. The 24-year-old has a personal best of 8.36m which came last year.

In the men's long jump event of the Paris Diamond League 2023, the competitors faced strong headwinds for most of the time which affected their performance. Olympic champion and world-ranked Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece finished first with a better performance of just four meters over Sreeshankar. While World Championship bronze medalist Simon Ehammer (SW) of Switzerland finished second with a jump of 8.11m.

All the attempts of Sreeshankar were 7.79, 7.94, 8.09, foul, 7.99m, and foul meter respectively. He reached the top after the third round but was overtaken by Ehammer and Tentoglou thereafter. The Indian, however, finished ahead of Olympic bronze medalist Maykel Masso of Cuba (sixth with 7.83m) and world number four Thobias Montler of Sweden (seventh with 7.82m).

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Meanwhile, Olympic champion Chopra is the current Diamond League champion in the javelin throw. He had topped the Doha leg this season. He is still recovering from the injury. While Gowda was the runner-up in 2012 (New York) and 2014 (Doha). He finished third twice in 2015 (Shanghai and Eugene).

Sreeshankar had earlier finished sixth in the Monaco stage last year. He secured six qualification points for the Diamond League Finals of the season in Eugene, USA in September. He also scored crucial points to qualify for the World Championships to be held in Budapest, Hungary in August.

Top Indian long jumper Murali Sreeshankar has been ruled out of the Paris Olympics 2024 citing a knee injury which will require him to undergo a surgery. Sreeshankar announced this heartbreaking news through social media on Thursday.

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There is not much time left for the Olympic Games to be held in Paris this year. India's medal hopes in these games have suffered a major setback as their star long jumper Murali Sreeshankar, who was considered a medal contender in Paris, will not participate in these games. 

"All my life, I've had the courage to look at a setback in the eye, accept situations I can't change, and work hard at dictating the outcomes of those I can. Unfortunately, in what feels like a nightmare, but is a reality, my Paris Olympic Games dream is over," Sreeshankar wrote on Instagram.

"I suffered a knee injury during training on Tuesday, and all the tests and consultations later, it's been decided that I would need surgery, ruling me out of the one single thing I have chased relentlessly all these years," he added.

Murali Sreeshankar had won the silver medal in the Asian Athletics Championship in Bangkok last year with a jump of 8.37m. He also crossed the qualifying mark of 8.27 for the Paris Olympics. Sreeshankar had been busy preparing for Paris since then. 

“To wake up healthy every single day, and watch yourself get into the best shape of your life is every athlete’s dream. I was living it, until this incident,” Sreeshankar further added.

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Twenty-five-year-old Sreeshankar had become the third Indian to finish in the top three of the Diamond League with a third-place finish in the Paris stage on June 9 last year. Before him, Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra and former discus thrower Vikas Gowda have achieved this feat. Sreeshankar had also won a silver medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year but was eliminated in the qualifying round at the 2023 Budapest World Championships.

Long jump Olympian Murali Sreeshankar has been honored with the 35th Jimmy George Foundation Award for the best sportsperson in Kerala. The award consists of one lakh rupees and a plaque.

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The winner was selected by a committee with Chairman Jose George and members Anju Bobby George, Robert Bobby, Sebastian and Stanley. The award will be presented to Murali Sreeshankar at the Jimmy George Sports Academy at Peravoor, Kannur, on December 22.

Murali Sreeshankar, who participated in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, gained international attention after winning a silver medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. He won silver medals in the Asian Games in China and Asian Championships in Thailand and also a bronze in the Paris Diamond League this year. The No.4 athlete was also seventh in the World Championships in the USA last year.

Murali Sreeshankar left sprinting at the age of 13 and later pursued a career in the long jump. Till the age of 20, he has crossed the distance of 8m thrice. Murali engraved the logo Olympics (5 rings) on his bedroom mirror after being qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He used to practice in Palakkad's government medical college's ground for practicing for Tokyo Olympics.

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Murali Sreeshankar began his career by sprinting and won state-level under-10 championships in 50 and 100 meters respectively. He won the gold medal at the Federation Cup Senior National Athletics championships, Patiala in March 2018. He is the 4th athlete from Kerala to qualify for Olympics since 1972. Murali gained his first international medal in 2018 at the Asian Junior Athletics Championships in Gifu, Japan.

India announced a 54-member squad for the Asian Athletics Championships to be held in Bangkok from July 12 to 16, including star long jumper Murali Sreeshankar, Asian record-holder shot putter, Tajinder Pal Singh Toor, and newcomers Decathlon champion Tejaswin Shankar has got a place.

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Moreover, the team, selected by the selection committee of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI), comprises 26 women players. The initial squad for the Asian Athletics Championships had already been picked after the Federation Cup in Ranchi in May. The National Inter-State Championship, which concluded in Bhubaneswar on Monday, was used to 'confirm' the players who did not participate in the Federation Cup.

Meanwhile, Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra and Commonwealth Games silver medalist 3000m steeplechase player Avinash Sable were not included in the squad as both will continue training abroad for the World Championships in Budapest in August.

Indian athletics chief coach Radhakrishnan Nair had said during the National Inter-State Championships that the team for the Asian event would be announced after a review meeting of the AFI selection committee.

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Indian Team for the Asian Athletics Championships:

Men:

Rajesh Ramesh and Muhammed Ajmal (400m/4x400m Relay/4x400m Mixed Relay), Amoj Jacob (4x400m Relay/4x400m Mixed Relay), Nihal Joel William, Mijo Chacko Kurian and Muhammed Anas Yahiya (4x400m Relay), Krishan Kumar and Mohammed Afsal (800m), Ajay Kumar Saroj and Jinson Johnson (1500m), Gulveer Singh (5000m/10000m), Abhishek Pal (5000m/10000m), Mohammed Nurhasan and Bal Kishan (3000m Steeplechase), Yashas Palaksha and Santhosh Kumar (400m hurdles), Tejaswin Shankar (Decathlon), Sarvesh Anil Kushare (High Jump), Jeswin Aldrin and Murali Sreeshankar (Long Jump), Praveen Chithravel and Abdulla Aboobacker (Triple Jump), Tajinderpal Singh Toor and Karanveer Singh (Shot Put), Rohit Yadav and D P Manu (Javelin Throw), Akshdeep Singh and Vikash Singh (20km Race Walk).

Women:

Jyothi Yarraji (200m/100m Hurdles), Nithya Ramraj (100m Hurdles), Aishwarya Mishra (400m/4x400m Relay/4x400m Mixed Relay), Chanda and Lavika Sharma (800m), Lili Das (1500m), Ankita (5000m), Parul Chaudhary (5000m/3000m Steeplechase), Sanjivani Jadhav (10000m), Priti (3000m Steeplechase), Pooja and Rubina Yadav (High Jump), Baranica Elangovan (Pole Vault), Shaili Singh and Ancy Sojan (Long Jump), Abha Khatua and Manpreet Kaur (Shot Put), Annu Rani (Javelin Throw), Swapna Barman (Heptathlon), Priyanka and Bhawna Jat (20km Race Walk), Rezoana Mallick Heena and Jyothika Sri Dandi (4x400m Relay/4x400m Mixed Relay), Anjali Devi, Jisna Mathew and Subha Venkatesan (4x400).

India's star long jumper Murali Sreeshankar on Sunday sealed his place at the 2023 World Athletics Championships with a jump of 8.41m at the ongoing 2023 National Inter-State Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. 

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The 24-year-old Murali, who returned to India after competing in a few competitions in Europe last month, cleared 8.41m in his very first attempt in the qualification round. Sreeshankar achieved his personal best on his first attempt during the heats at the Kalinga Stadium. He, however, missed out on equaling Jeswin Aldrin's national record of 8.42m by just a centimeter. Aldrin made the national record this year.

Meanwhile, Aldrin finished second with a throw of 7.83m, while Muhammed Anees Yahiya finished third with a throw of 7.71m. Twelve players made it to the finals to be held on Monday.

Murali had also crossed the 8.25m mark in an athletics meet in California, USA last month with an 8.29m effort. But since his jump was wind-assisted, it did not help him make the cut for the world championships. Last week, Murali Sreeshankar registered an impressive 8.09m long jump to claim the third spot at the Paris Diamond League 2023. Before that, Murali Sreeshankar won a World Athletics Continental Tour bronze label event in Kallithea, Greece with 8.18m and made the cut for the upcoming Asian Games in China. Murali Sreeshankar can join Neeraj Chopra at the Lausanne Diamond League on June 30.

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The Asian Games qualifying standard in men's long jump is 7.95m. The qualifying standard for the men's long jump event at the World Championships is 8.25m. The tournament will start in Budapest, Hungary in August.

The women's long jump saw the 2022 national champion Ancy Sojan top the heats with an effort of 6.49m. Asian championships bronze medallist Nayana James came second with 6.31m followed by promising 19-year-old Shaili Singh, who hit the 6.27m mark.

India's long jumper Murali Sreeshankar won the gold medal at the MVA 'High Performance' athletics meet held in Chula Vista, USA on Sunday.

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Competing in his second competition of the season, the 24-year-old, who had won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games last year, produced a fine performance as he missed his personal best of 8.36m by just 0.07m. Sreeshankar did his best last year. The qualifying standard for the World Athletics Championships to be held in Budapest in August this year is 8.25m and Sreeshankar's attempt was better but was disallowed due to high wind speed.

Murali Sreeshankar started his 2023 season at the Indian Grand Prix 3 in Bengaluru last month. He won the gold medal with a 7.94m effort in there. The meet in the US was his second competition of the year. And this was also his first piece of competitive action on foreign soil for 2023. Meanwhile, The Asian Games 2023 qualifying standard for men's long jump set by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI), meanwhile, is 7.95m.

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Sreeshankar held the men's long jump national record in India with his 8.36 jump. But Jeswin Aldrin surpassed him with an effort of 8.42m at the second Indian Open Jumps Championships in March. Meanwhile, Ma Weidong of China won the silver medal with a jump of 7.99m. While his compatriot Huafeng Huang won the bronze with a jump of 7.61m.