Sreeshankar Murali wins gold medal in Portugal in his second competition after knee surgery
He claimed the title with a best jump of 7.75m, which is below his season best of 8.05m.
Sreeshankar opened with a 7.63m jump, followed it up with his winning leap of 7.75m in the second round, and then recorded a solid 7.69m. His third attempt was a foul, while his final two jumps were measured at 6.12m and 7.58m.
Poland's Piotr Tarkowski matched Sreeshankar's 7.75m effort but his second best jump — 7.58m — was less than the Indian's 7.69m. According to the World Athletics rules if two competitors tie, their second longest legal jump is used as a tie-breaker.
The poor mark was due to the unfavourable conditions at the venue with the athletes facing a strong headwind. Responding to a fan on social media, Sreeshankar wrote, 'Never jumped in such terrible cold headwinds in my life.'
This is second title in as many outings for the 26-year-old who is returned from his long injury layoff last week at the Indian Open Athletics Meet with a jump of 8.05m.
The meet marks the 26-year-old's second outing since returning from a long injury layoff following knee surgery. He had announced his comeback with a solid 8.05m win at the Indian Open Athletics Meet earlier this month. 'Initially, I was a bit anxious about how it would go because I hadn't competed in a while. At the same time I was very calm and composed because I knew I had done it before,' Sreeshankar, a Commonwealth Games and Asian Games silver medallist, told The Indian Express after his return.
Interestingly, Sreeshankar's jump at the Indian Open Athletics is the best mark by any Indian long jumper this year.
Sreeshankar had a 21-month layoff following a ruptured patellar tendon right before 2024 Paris Olympics, missing the quadrennial event. His injury was different and more severe than the 'jumpers' knee' as his patellar tendon connecting the kneecap to the top of the shin bone had ruptured and a part of the bone had chipped off. 'I was devastated. Just two days back I was aiming for an Olympic medal and then you hear that your career is almost finished,' Sreeshankar recalled the emotions.
Sreeshankar was operated at The Aspetar Hospital in Doha, Qatar, where Brazilian football star Neymar underwent an ankle surgery, under Dr Bruno Olory. Following his successful surgery, Sreeshankar started his rehab process at Inspire Institute of Sports in Bellary under the expert supervision and guidance of Samuel A Pulling, Wayne Lombard, and Priyam Singh.
He will compete in Qosanov Memorial Athletics Meeting, a World Athletics Continental Tour bronze event, in Almaty on 2nd and 3rd August and then return to India to compete in another WACT bronze event in Bhubaneswar. He will travel to Spain after that to compete in Meeting International C.D. Meliz Sport.
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