Murali Sreeshankar (born 27 March 1999) is an Indian athlete who competes in the long jump event. He created a national record of 8.36 metres set in 2022.

Career

In March 2018, Sreeshankar cleared a 7.99 m jump at the Federation Cup in Patiala. He was named in the Indian contingent for the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

but had to pull out 10 days before the April event after being diagnosed with appendicitis. Following an emergency appendix surgery, he was placed on a liquid diet, which resulted in significant weight loss and an inability to walk properly. Two months later, he participated in the

2018 Asian Junior Athletics Championships The 2018 Asian Junior Athletics Championships was the 18th edition of the international athletics competition for Asian under-20 athletes, organised by the Asian Athletics Association and the Japan Association of Athletics Federations. Athletes bo ...

Gifu is a city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. During the Sengoku ...

despite having "less strength, speed and focus" from before the illness and won bronze with a jump of 7.47 metres. At the

2018 Asian Games The 2018 Asian Games ( id, Pesta Olahraga Asia 2018 or ''Asian Games 2018''), officially known as the 18th Asian Games and also known as Jakarta-Palembang 2018 or Indonesia 2018, was a Asia, continental multi-sport event that was held from 18 A ...

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

, he "struggled with run-up issues" and finished sixth in the final with 7.95 metres. In September 2018, Sreeshankar broke the national record at the National Open Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar where he achieved a jump of 8.20 metres. It was also the world leading jump of the season among under-20 athletes and made him the first Indian athlete to qualify for the

2019 World Athletics Championships The 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships () was the seventeenth edition of the biennial, global athletics competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), since renamed World Athletics. It was held betw ...

scheduled to be held in September–October in Doha. At the World Championships, Sreeshankar failed to qualify for the finals, achieving a best leap of 7.62m, with the qualification mark set at 8.15. Sreeshankar qualified for the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

by recording a jump of 8.26m, a new national record, at the Federation Cup in Patiala in March 2021. At the Olympics, he registered a jump of 7.69m in the qualifying round and failed to enter the final. At the

2022 World Athletics Championships The 2022 World Athletics Championships was the eighteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships. It was held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, United States, from July 15–24, 2022, with the country hosting that competition for the f ...

, he qualified for the final round and finished seventh with a jump of 7.96 m. At the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England bet ...

, he won the silver medal with a jump of 8.08 metres and became the first male long jumper from India to win a silver medal at the Games. As of 2022, he was one of the only three Indian athletes that ever made it to the top 3 in a

Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fourteen of the best invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) one-day mee ...

meet. He qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris by jumping 8.37m to get a silver medal at the 2023 Asian Athletic Championships. But he injured his knee on 16 April 2024 which requires a surgery, and has been ruled of Olympic participation. Later on 26 April 2024, he underwent a successful knee surgery in Doha.

Personal life

Sreeshankar is coached by his father S. Murali who is a former triple jump athlete and silver medalist at the South Asian Games. Sreeshankar would accompany his father to practice as a four-year-old, when his father noticed his potential as a sprinter. Sreeshankar became a state-level under-10 champion in

50 metres 50 metres, or 50-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field. It is a relatively uncommon non-championship event for indoor track and field, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor athletics competitions it is ...

and

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

, but switched from sprinting to long jump at the age of 13. His mother K. S. Bijimol has won a silver medal in 800 metres at the

1992 Asian Junior Athletics Championships The 1992 Asian Junior Athletics Championships was the fourth edition of the international athletics (sport), athletics competition for Asian under-20 athletes, organised by the Asian Athletics Association. It took place from 2–5 December in Ne ...

. His sister Sreeparvathy is a heptathlete. As of August 2019, Sreeshankar is pursuing a BSc in mathematics at the Government Victoria College, Palakkad. Sreeshankar is part of the Target Olympic Podium (TOP) scheme started by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. He is sponsored by JSW Sports and supported by JSW's

Inspire Institute of Sport Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS) is India's first privately-funded high performance training centre for athletes. Founded by the JSW Group, the facility is spread over 42 acres in Vijayanagar, Bellary district, Karnataka. The institute provides ...

Bellary district Bellary, officially known as Ballari (pronounced ), is a major district in Karnataka. It is located at north-eastern part of Karnataka. This district belongs to Kalyana-Karnataka. This district was one of the biggest districts in Karnataka unt ...

, Karnataka.

Awards

He was conferred the

Arjuna Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjuna, one ...

for 2023.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sreeshankar, M. 1999 births Living people Indian male long jumpers Athletes from Palakkad Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2022 Asian Games Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Asian Games silver medalists for India Medalists at the 2022 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for India Athletes (track and field) at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists for India Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics 21st-century Indian people Medallists at the 2022 Commonwealth Games World Athletics Championships athletes for India Recipients of the Arjuna Award