Glasgow: India’s Murali Sreeshankar made an assured start to his Commonwealth Games campaign by qualifying for the men’s long jump final with a first-attempt leap of 8.01 metres, comfortably surpassing the automatic qualification mark on the opening day of athletics competition here on Monday.
Competing in Qualifying Group A, the 27-year-old required a jump of at least 8.00m to secure direct entry into the final. Sreeshankar needed just one attempt to achieve that target, after which he ended his qualification round, conserving his energy for Wednesday’s medal event.
The Kerala athlete topped Group A with his opening effort, finishing ahead of Jamaica’s Jordan Turner, whose best jump was 7.80m. Had Sreeshankar fallen short of the qualification standard, he would have needed to finish among the 12 best performers across both qualification groups to advance.
Instead, the Indian made his intentions clear from the outset, removing any uncertainty with an opening jump that comfortably met the required mark.
Sreeshankar entered the Commonwealth Games as one of the leading contenders in the event, carrying the best season’s mark in the field at 8.38m. His qualification performance suggested there is still more to come, with the Indian opting not to take any further attempts after sealing his place in the final.
The final, scheduled for July 29, presents an opportunity for Sreeshankar to upgrade the silver medal he won at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games four years ago.
At the 2022 edition, Sreeshankar had also dominated the qualification round, recording the best jump of all competitors with 8.05m before narrowly missing out on gold in the final. He finished with a best effort of 8.08m, the same distance as Bahamas’ LaQuan Nairn, who claimed the title on the countback rule courtesy of a superior second-best jump.
Having returned from injury setbacks to regain top form this season, Sreeshankar arrives in Glasgow as one of India’s strongest athletics medal prospects. His season-best leap of 8.38m is not only the best among the Commonwealth Games field this year but also underlines his readiness to challenge for the top step of the podium.
(IANS)
