When M. Sreeshankar suffered a patellar tendon rupture in April final yr, many feared that it will end his glowing long jump profession. Even the medical doctors within the nation weren’t optimistic.
“Almost every doctor in India, probably the best doctors, said, ‘We’ll make you in such a way that you’ll walk again’. The injury was that bad. My tendon got cut completely and a part of a bone was also chipped off,” the Asian Games silver medallist informed The Hindu.
On the mend
Sreeshankar flew to Doha for knee surgical procedure on the Aspetar hospital, the place some of the world’s greatest athletes, together with Brazilian footballers, have been handled.
“For me, getting back to two feet was a big thing. Unless you’re strong enough, you cannot come out from this sort of injury. It was just work, work and work. Every day, my focus was getting better by 1%.”
The harm just some months earlier than the 2024 Paris Olympics shattered him.
“Imagine, we were aiming for an Olympic medal, suddenly this happens and my career was almost done. It was a big shock for me. But I knew I’d come back. You remember 2018 when I had appendicitis and was in a critical condition just before the Commonwealth Games?
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“I thought if I get the surgery okay, then the comeback would be my thing. I was pretty confident about that.”
Sreeshankar is now again and raring to go. After a 15-month break, the 26-year-old returns to competitors on the Indian Open in Pune on Saturday (July 12), as he makes an attempt to e book a ticket for September’s World Championships in Tokyo by means of computerized qualification (8.27m, deadline Aug. 24) or by means of the World rankings route.
The plan is to compete in Portugal on July 19, in Almaty (Kazakhstan), within the Indian Open World Athletics Continental Tour occasion (Bhubaneswar, August 10) and within the Inter-State Nationals in Chennai (from Aug. 20).
One hopes his return wakes the occasion up within the nation. For, Indian long jump seems to have gone right into a deep slumber in Sreeshankar’s absence.
For a interval in 2023, Jeswin Aldrin led the world together with his 8.42m, having damaged Sreeshankar’s National file on the Indian Open Jumps Competition at his then JSW coaching base at Ballari in March. Three months later, Sreeshankar closed in with an 8.41m on the Bhubaneswar Inter-State Nationals. At one level, Jeswin and Sreeshankar have been No. 1 and a pair of in World Athletics’ long jump checklist, finally ending the yr as No. 3 and 4.
Imagine Indians being on high of the world in a glamorous occasion just like the long jump which was dominated by legends Jesse Owens, Bob Beamon, Mike Powell and Carl Lewis previously! During that section in 2023, it seemed as if Sreeshankar had the potential to do what Neeraj Chopra was doing within the javelin throw. Many younger athletes have been impressed by that dream run.
Apart from profitable silver on the Hangzhou Asian Games (8.19m) and the Bangkok Asian Championships (8.37), Sreeshankar completed within the top-three in a Diamond League meet (8.09) — solely the third Indian then, after discus thrower Vikas Gowda and Neeraj, to attain that distinction — and in addition gained gold in meets in Greece and the USA.
Exciting rivalry
Jeswin, whose thrilling rivalry with Sreeshankar raised the profile of the game at house, additionally had a incredible 2023. He entered the Budapest Worlds last with 8m and took gold in a Swiss meet (8.22) though he might end solely eighth within the Asian Games (7.76) that yr.
Four Indians crossed 8m in worldwide or nationwide competitions in 2023. If one have been so as to add P. David and V.Ok. Elakkiyadasan, who went previous that landmark within the Tamil Nadu State Championships, six completed the feat that season.
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But with Sreeshankar’s injury-break, the golden days abruptly got here to a halt. Jeswin has not touched 8m since then. Only one Indian — Aditya Kumar (8.01, Indian GP, Bengaluru) — crossed 8m in 2024; no person has this yr.
Indian long jump hit one other low this yr. The Athletics Federation of India didn’t ship a single jumper to the Asian Championships as a result of none achieved the AFI’s qualification normal (8.07m).
Jeswin (7.83m) has slipped to seventh on the Indian checklist this yr and will solely handle a disappointing 7.11m in a foul-ridden sequence in Italy earlier this week though it fetched him the second spot. David is the season chief with 7.94. But Sreeshankar, who’s supported by JSW, believes his return might revive the game.
Hoping to take off: National file holder Jeswin Aldrin is simply seventh on the Indian checklist this yr, however he believes his days as an 8m jumper will return.
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“When I come back, Jeswin will also be back and jumping good…automatically, the event’s standard will go up,” mentioned Sreeshankar, who’s coached by his father S. Murali, a former triple jump worldwide.
Jeswin, now in Europe for competitions, additionally believes he might be again to his 8m days quickly. “My last couple of 8m jumps were abroad. It’s almost two years since I did 8m, so I’m looking forward to jumping far. I can jump 8m again, I know it’s there,” mentioned the 23-year-old.
Jeswin, now with the Reliance Foundation, skilled for a couple of months within the USA underneath coach Rana Reider — who has coached double Olympic champion triple jumper Christian Taylor — and feels he has gained a lot from the expertise.
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“My speed on the runway has improved a lot, my strength too. I know I’m capable of jumping very far,” mentioned Jeswin. “I’m focusing on the World University Games [in Germany later this month] and the Worlds. I’m confident of doing the big jumps later this year.”
Sreeshankar believes an Indian will jump 8m this yr. “I hope there will be more because now I’m training in Thiruvananthapuram and we already have two 7.90m jumpers, Shahnavaz and Sunny Kumar, there,” he mentioned. “From 7.90 to 8m is not a big thing. I wish more jumpers cross 8m this season. It’s even more important with the Asian Games coming up next year.”
Eight over 8
Will there be a pleasant group leaping over 8m subsequent yr, maybe a repeat of 2023? “100%. Next year, I feel we’ll have eight jumpers over 8m,” mentioned Sreeshankar.
When he first tried the long jump after the surgical procedure, with a cautious three-step strategy in late-February, he managed 3m. Now — after working with South African strength-and-conditioning coach Dr. Wayne Lombard, who had helped the Indian hockey group on the Olympics — Sreeshankar feels match and superb.
“I feel I have the jumps… physically, I feel I’m better than ever before. Only thing, I haven’t done this in a while,” mentioned Sreeshankar. “It’s just that I have to be patient, kickstart the season, go with the flow and everything will fall in place.”
