Kerala long jumper Sreeshankar takes fifth gold since returning from injury

M Sreeshankar continued his stunning return with another gold in the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in Chennai on Sunday.

The long jumper from Kerala cleared 8.06 metres to finish first, while Karnataka's S Lokesh (7.71m) and Tamil Nadu's Swaminathan R (7.70m) claimed silver and bronze respectively.

Even though he only produced one 8-metre-plus jump, Sreeshankar's gold medal was never in doubt, as all his other five attempts were good enough to place him first. Sreeshankar produced a series of 7.85, 7.96, 8.06, 7.80, 7.96 and 7.86.

The 26-year-old has been in stellar form both domestically and internationally since returning to fitness from a lengthy knee injury that required surgery.

Earlier this month, Sreeshankar clinched his fourth gold in a row with an impressive 8.13 m at the World Athletics Bronze Level Continental Tour event in Bhubaneswar. He has a personal best of 8.41m, which was set at the same venue in June 2023.