Can Sreeshankar's return shake Indian long jump out of its slumber?

The Hindu

11-07-2025

When M. Sreeshankar suffered a patellar tendon rupture in April last year, many feared that it would finish his sparkling long jump career. Even the doctors in the country were not 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 told The Hindu.
On the mend
Sreeshankar flew to Doha for knee surgery at the Aspetar hospital, where some of the world's best athletes, including Brazilian footballers, have been treated.
'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 injury just a few months before 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?
ALSO READ | Smaller steps, stronger block, straighter throws: The S's Neeraj Chopra is working on for success
'I thought if I get the surgery okay, then the comeback would be my thing. I was pretty confident about that.'
Sreeshankar is now back and raring to go. After a 15-month break, the 26-year-old returns to competition at the Indian Open in Pune on Saturday (July 12), as he attempts to book a ticket for September's World Championships in Tokyo through automatic qualification (8.27m, deadline Aug. 24) or through the World rankings route.
The plan is to compete in Portugal on July 19, in Almaty (Kazakhstan), in the Indian Open World Athletics Continental Tour event (Bhubaneswar, August 10) and in the Inter-State Nationals in Chennai (from Aug. 20).
One hopes his return wakes the event up in the country. For, Indian long jump appears to have gone into a deep slumber in Sreeshankar's absence.
For a period in 2023, Jeswin Aldrin led the world with his 8.42m, having broken Sreeshankar's National record at the Indian Open Jumps Competition at his then JSW training base at Ballari in March. Three months later, Sreeshankar closed in with an 8.41m at the Bhubaneswar Inter-State Nationals. At one point, Jeswin and Sreeshankar were No. 1 and 2 in World Athletics' long jump list, eventually finishing the year as No. 3 and 4.
Imagine Indians being on top of the world in a glamorous event like the long jump which was dominated by legends Jesse Owens, Bob Beamon, Mike Powell and Carl Lewis in the past! During that phase in 2023, it looked as if Sreeshankar had the potential to do what Neeraj Chopra was doing in the javelin throw. Many young athletes were inspired by that dream run.
Apart from winning silver at the Hangzhou Asian Games (8.19m) and the Bangkok Asian Championships (8.37), Sreeshankar finished in the top-three in a Diamond League meet (8.09) — only the third Indian then, after discus thrower Vikas Gowda and Neeraj, to achieve that distinction — and also won gold in meets in Greece and the USA.
Exciting rivalry
Jeswin, whose exciting rivalry with Sreeshankar raised the profile of the sport at home, also had a fantastic 2023. He entered the Budapest Worlds final with 8m and took gold in a Swiss meet (8.22) although he could finish only eighth in the Asian Games (7.76) that year.
Four Indians crossed 8m in international or national competitions in 2023. If one were to add P. David and V.K. Elakkiyadasan, who went past that landmark in the Tamil Nadu State Championships, six accomplished the feat that season.
ALSO READ | How Vani Kapoor rediscovered her authentic golf self and reclaimed the joy of playing
But with Sreeshankar's injury-break, the golden days abruptly came to a halt. Jeswin has not touched 8m since then. Only one Indian — Aditya Kumar (8.01, Indian GP, Bengaluru) — crossed 8m in 2024; nobody has this year.
Indian long jump hit another low this year. The Athletics Federation of India did not send a single jumper to the Asian Championships because none achieved the AFI's qualification standard (8.07m).
Jeswin (7.83m) has slipped to seventh on the Indian list this year and could only manage a disappointing 7.11m in a foul-ridden series in Italy earlier this week although it fetched him the second spot. David is the season leader with 7.94. But Sreeshankar, who is supported by JSW, believes his return could revive the sport.
'When I come back, Jeswin will also be back and jumping good…automatically, the event's standard will go up,' said Sreeshankar, who is coached by his father S. Murali, a former triple jump international.
Jeswin, now in Europe for competitions, also believes he will be back to his 8m days soon. '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,' said the 23-year-old.
Jeswin, now with the Reliance Foundation, trained for a few months in the USA under coach Rana Reider — who has coached double Olympic champion triple jumper Christian Taylor — and feels he has gained much from the experience.
ALSO READ | Neeraj Chopra Classic — a milestone moment in Indian athletics
'My speed on the runway has improved a lot, my strength too. I know I'm capable of jumping very far,' said 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 year. '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 said. '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 nice group jumping over 8m next year, perhaps a repeat of 2023? '100%. Next year, I feel we'll have eight jumpers over 8m,' said Sreeshankar.
When he first tried the long jump after the surgery, with a cautious three-step approach 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 team at the Olympics — Sreeshankar feels fit and fine.
'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,' said Sreeshankar. 'It's just that I have to be patient, kickstart the season, go with the flow and everything will fall in place.'