When opportunity meets preparation, big leaps follow

The Hindu

a day ago

It has been a tough and painful learning experience for India's top long jumper M. Sreeshankar.
After suffering a career-threatening knee injury during training last April, his career almost came to a halt. For 15 months, Sreeshankar took rest, performed a surgery and did intense rehabilitation. When he was fit enough to restart his journey in July 2025, his aim was to qualify for the World athletics championships in Tokyo (from September 13 to 21). He knew he was running against time. With the qualifying mark for the Worlds being 8.27m, the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games silver medallist hasn't been able to make the cut in the three International meets he took part in Portugal, Kazakhstan and Bhubaneswar. He, however, hasn't lost hope and is very confident of making the trip to Japan.
Sreeshankar said he will make the grade in the National inter-State meet (from August 20 to 24) at the Nehru Stadium in Chennai, which is the final selection trials.
'My knee is responding quite well to training. I am expecting some good results when my event begins on August 24, Sunday,' Sreeshankar told The Hindu in an exclusive interview. Here, he speaks of how he planned his comeback, the people who helped him recuperate, the disappointments and the learnings along the way. Excerpts:
Returning from the knee injury, you have done really well in your comeback, winning three gold medals in three International meets. How well prepared are you?
I want to get the Worlds qualification mark of 8.27m. So, that's my target personally. Because for every World Championships, I have hit the qualification mark and went, rather than based on the World rankings. My body is good. Preparation, too, has been really good. And health-wise also, I am good. My knee is responding quite well to training. I am expecting some good results when my event begins on August 24, Sunday.
How do you see the qualifying mark of 8.27m? Since returning to competition your best has been an 8.13m in the World Continental Tour bronze event in Bhubaneswar?
Obviously, I have been chasing that mark for the past 2-3 competitions. But there have been few ups and downs with respect to my technique, rhythm and everything. I am just waiting for everything to fall in place. I just feel that my preparations are all set. When preparation meets opportunity, big jumps will come.
The National inter-State is the final selection trials for the Worlds. Is there pressure to deliver?
No, not really. I am not putting any expectation kind of thing on myself. Because whatever I am jumping this season is a bonus for me. Because I just wanted to kick-start this season so that I will gain momentum for the next season. That's my aim. So, there is no pressure for me to qualify. I know that I will qualify. Coming back from the injury, it was one hectic task. The gravity of this injury was also too high compared to the kind of standards I am performing right now. I feel that whatever happens, happens for good. And if it is coming, I will just embrace it. If it doesn't come, it is absolutely fine.
This season has been more about rehab, training and rehab. I just need to click at the right time to get the big jump. I am sure Chennai will be the most ideal place and most befitting place to get the big jump.
What are the reasons for your successful comeback. Any specific areas you focused on?
Our preparation has been a very planned one. So was our training. I started working with the new strength and conditioning coach from South Africa, Dr. Wayne Lombard. He has played a crucial part with our Indian hockey teams. I have been working with him since last February. I started jumping only after doing his training programmes. My rehab, too, has been going really well. Priyam of JSW Sports has taken care of me well. These two people have been very instrumental in my recovery phase.
Tell us about your first International meet in Portugal after the injury...
The Portugal event was not a big event. It was a Continental tour Bronze only. But I couldn't do well (he did 7.75m) there because the conditions were far from ideal to get some good jumps. Because the wind was blowing from the opposite direction and it was very cold. All the jumpers in the competition were facing real trouble getting the jumps.
We were like, okay, let's just finish the competition. And my goal was to get the valuable World ranking points. But that didn't happen. Something around 8m would have really boosted my rankings. The conditions were far from ideal and hence I couldn't do well there.
You could have picked up momentum in the next event at the Qosanov meet in Kazakhstan?
Yeah, Kazakhstan was also not that great. Again, there were issues with the wind. It was high altitude. I was feeling difficult getting the breath. I did 7.94m.
But winning gold must have given you a good feeling?
Yeah, absolutely. Like winning is important. But at the same time, getting a big jump is more important for me this season.
You started competing in July this season. It would have been difficult to perform and make the push to qualify for the Worlds in such a short time?
I am trying to chase the qualification thing in like one month, which should have happened in a span of one year. I am squeezing in one year process into one month.
Yes, I started my season only in July and there were only very few competitions available, which had men's long jump. I needed five competitions to get into the World rankings spot. World Athletics takes the aggregate of five competitions. But five good competitions were quite difficult to find in the time frame. There were no competitions apart from the ones I did.
You won gold in World Athletics Continental Tour bronze event in Bhubaneswar (Aug. 10) and you crossed 8m (8.13m)...
I participated because it was the first ever Continental Tour event in India. I couldn't stay in Europe for long as there was an event in Kazakhstan and from Kazakhstan I had to come to India for the World Continental event.
In Bhubaneswar, in my 8.13m jump my landing was awkward. Actually, I did close to 8.30m in my first attempt which turned out to be a foul. If I would have capitalised on small, small things, I could have landed a good jump in Bhubaneswar. But lots of travel, new experiences. It was fine. I feel that I was able to do quite well and manage well, considering that this was my comeback season. Now, I am very well prepared for Chennai. Let's see what happens.
The qualifying mark of 8.27m for the Worlds seems a bit huge given that your best jump this season has been only 8.13m in Bhubaneswar...
If it was a normal year, then 8.27m would never have been a problem at all. As I said, I am ready. I am just happy that I am just jumping again. And if the World championships is meant for me this season, it will definitely happen. When opportunity meets preparation, the big leap will follow. This is what Wayne Lombard keeps telling me.
Tell us about the injury phase, missing out on Paris Olympics despite making the qualifying mark and the surgery. How difficult was the rehab phase for 15 months?
It was one difficult process. Because this injury was a kind of a rare injury. Not many people have this kind of injury. My tendon got completely ruptured. It got completely torn. So, to come back after the injury, is something I am really grateful. We just kept working and we progressively increased our workload. I did my surgery at Aspetar Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital in Doha (Qatar). It is considered to be one of the best in the world. Footballer Neymar also did his surgery post FIFA World Cup 2022.
I spent some time at the Inspire Institute of Sports in Bannihatti (Karnataka) doing mild training. When I was in a good condition to start my sports-specific training, I moved to SAI (Thiruvananthapuram).
Missing out on the 2024 Paris Olympics was, of course, bad. If you keep crying, then you will have time only for that. I started my work after that. I focused on small, small things and made good progress every day. Initially, my aim was to bend my knee and then walk without crutches.
I was just being happy, fulfilling all the small, small targets every single day. So, that was my motivation.