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In a year that saw him rewrite his national record and become the first Indian man to win a Commonwealth Games (CWG) silver medal, it’s slightly odd that Murali Sreeshankar picks a seventh-place finish at World Championships as his most significant performance.
“Without a doubt, CWG medal is a big breakthrough in my career but I’ll place my seventh spot at World Championships higher because of the field I was competing against,” said the long jumper. The 12-man final at Hayward Field had six finalists from last year’s Tokyo Olympics, including the gold and bronze medallists, the reigning Asian Games champion, and the current European U-23 winner.
“To make the final in such a high-quality field gave a major fillip to my confidence. I can now hope to build on this performance next year and go for a medal,” he said.
For all his infectious optimism, Sreeshankar was in a precarious space around this time last year. Having resumed training at the Inspire Institute of Sport after a month’s break following a botched-up Olympics, Sreeshankar — still reeling from the after-effects of Covid — was slowly feeling his way back into training when 2022 came around.
There was no dearth of ambition though. “I had my targets. I wanted to win a medal at CWG, Asian Games (now postponed), and World Championships,” he said. The road was long, the body unwilling but the mind strong.
His physical strength parameters, Sreeshankar recalled, were “ridiculous.” At his lowest ebb, with a battered body and a hard-nosed dad for company, Sreeshankar began a carefully calibrated process of comeback. The gains were “one centimetre a week”, to begin with. For someone who has been jumping 8m since 2018, it was a chastening curve.
“It was frustrating, for sure. I averaged around 7.90m in training as compared to 8.20s in the previous seasons, but I kept pushing until I was able to nail it,” the 23-year-old said.
There was also a small matter of dealing with multiple fractures in his right metatarsals — an injury sustained during training in February — one month before the season-opening Indian Open Jumps Competitions. It put him off weights for 2-3 months, meaning he entered the competition with no upper body or arms workout. That didn’t stop him from taking the top spot with a jump of 8.17m.
As the season progressed, Sreeshankar grew more comfortable with the subtle tweaks in his technique. “The change kicks in the last phase of the approach, basically the kind of pressure I give on each stride in the last phase. The last phase of my approach is 5-7 strides and I was required to apply more pressure on my feet there, ” said Sreeshankar whose regular run-up is 19 strides.
There were occasions, such as the World Championships final, when the execution went awry. “I realised whenever I missed that technique, the jumps didn’t go well. Eugene final was an example.”
The qualification round, however, was in stark contrast to the final. Sreeshankar finished second in his group with a jump of 8m, although he reckons his last jump, adjudged a foul, was 8.40m or thereabouts. “I was in a great rhythm. I think I fouled by 3-4cms in my last jump, but it was a good leap, close to 8.40m. The final, unfortunately, didn’t go to the plan but I will cherish the experience of competing in the Worlds final.”
Things changed for the better at CWG where he took silver after tying Laquan Nairn of Bahamas on 8.08m although Sreeshankar had reasons to curse his “rotten, ridiculous” luck. “Losing gold on countback was tough, but my 8.08m jump was measured from my T-shirt and not from where my body landed. We found this out a day later but nothing could be done,” he said. “I couldn’t stop thinking how unlucky I was, but that has only strengthened my resolve to jump longer.”
By the time National Games, his last competition of the year arrived, Sreeshankar was in his best shape. “The year-long process of rebuilding finally culminated at the National Games when I felt I was in my best physique. Too bad, I injured my hamstring and had to pull out after two jumps,” he said. Still, his effort of 7.93m was enough to win him a silver. The Grade 2 tear meant a two-month rehab before training resumed late last month.
“In many ways, I end the year the way I started it — focussing on strength training and rehab — but I am a much more confident and rounded athlete now,” he said.
A world rank of six and competing in a bunch of international competitions have surely contributed to that confidence.
“I started the year ranked somewhere in the 60s and I am ending it at six. I do keep a tab of rankings to see where I stand and how my peers are doing. Also, international competitions make a huge difference.”
“At the World Championships, for example, I was the only athlete with no Diamond League experience. My competitors pretty much knew each other. Miltiadis Tentaglou (reigning Olympic champion and World silver medallist) has been competing in Diamond Leagues since 2018.”
Sreeshankar had a training stint with Tentaglou this year and plans to train with him in Greece next April. “Such exposure helps dispel the aura of Olympic champions. We realise that anybody can be beaten on a given day. At this level, top 10 athletes are pretty much at the same level in terms of training and skills. Little things, such as the experience of competing overseas, counts for a lot,” he said.
“This year was all about finding my groove again. Trusting the process and believing, that’s all I did. Next year, I want to get more consistent with my jumps and constantly feature among the top three in the world, stay fitter, stronger, improve my personal best, and win some international medals,” he said. Quite a list, but Sreeshankar is ready for the giant leap.
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