Malayali star Sreeshankar leaps 8.13 m, takes fourth gold in a row since returning from injury

Malayali star Sreeshankar Murali continued his stellar return to competition with a fourth title in a row. The 26-year-old long jumper cleared an impressive 8.13m to take first place in India’s maiden World Athletics Bronze Level Continental Tour event at Bhubaneswar on Sunday.

The performance was short of the Tokyo World Championships direct qualification mark of 8.27 m.

Sreeshankar was second in the event after four rounds, with a 7.95, trailing National Games gold medallist Shahnavaz Khan (8.04m). However, Sreeshankar produced his best in his final attempt to maintain his perfect record since returning to action.

Sreeshankar had missed more than a year due to a serious injury. He underwent surgery on his knee after April last year and missed the Paris Olympics. He returned to action in July by winning the Indian Open in Pune with 8.05m and took first place in Portugal at the Meeting Maia Cidade do Desporto, with a modest 7.75m.

Earlier this month, Sreeshankar won gold in the Qosanov Memorial in Almaty, Kazakhstan, with a decent performance of 7.94m. He has a personal best of 8.41m, which was set at the same venue in June 2023.