Sreeshankar has one last chance to achieve the mark at Inter-State meet in Chennai before the August 24 deadline.
Bhubaneswar’s Kalinga Stadium has been a happy hunting ground for India’s promising long jumper Murali Sreeshankar. Seven years ago Sreeshankar’s flight to stardom began here at Kalinga stadium when he first broke the national record.
Thereafter, he has never looked back winning multiple medals at the continental level, including a silver at Hangzhou Asian Games held in China in 2023. He has also competed in three global competitions, starting with the 2019 Doha Worlds and Covid-19 pandemic delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games in Japan.
Sreeshankar’s build-up to the Paris Olympics was full of promise. In 2022–23, he scaled new heights with silver medals at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, and Asian Championships—where his 8.37m jump secured his Olympic berth. But fate intervened. Just three months before Paris, a knee injury ruled him out, delivering heartbreak to both Sreeshankar and India.
He underwent surgery and spent nearly a year in rehabilitation. Last month, the 26-year-old returned, looking sharper and hungrier. He opened with a powerful 8.05m leap at the Indian Open Athletics Meet in Pune on July 12, followed by 7.75m in Portugal and 7.94m in Almaty. Then came his favourite venue Bhubaneswar where he went all out showing good consistency over his six attempts.
With the Kalinga Stadium crowd roaring him on, Sreeshankar recorded a season-best 8.13m, just short of the World Championships automatic qualifying mark of 8.27m.
He now has one final shot at making the cut—at the Chennai meet before the August 24 deadline. The Worlds will be held in Japan from September 13 to 21.
“The key is consistency,” says his father and coach, S. Murali. “He’s fit now, but he must stay steady to earn his ticket to the Worlds.”
For Sreeshankar, the focus is simple: “I’ll give my best to make the mark, but right now, I’m just enjoying the thrill of competing again.” His return has already lit up the long jump pit, inspiring young athletes to deliver impressive performances in Bhubaneswar. Shahnavaz Khan took silver with an 8.04m effort and Lokesh Sathyanathan got bronze with 7.63m jump.
