India’s Murali Sreeshankar qualified for the Commonwealth Games men’s long jump final with an opening leap of 8.01m, clearing the automatic mark in his first attempt.
India's Murali Sreeshankar (PC: Sony Sports Network/X)
India’s Murali Sreeshankar made a confident start to his Commonwealth Games campaign, qualifying for the men’s long jump final with a first-attempt leap of 8.01m on the opening day of athletics competition on Monday.
Competing in Qualifying Group A, Sreeshankar comfortably cleared the automatic qualification mark of 8.00m with his opening jump before opting not to take his remaining attempts, conserving energy for Wednesday’s final.
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The 27-year-old topped Group A with his 8.01m effort, finishing ahead of Jamaica’s Jordan Turner, whose best jump was 7.80m.
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Murali Sreeshankar wastes no time, sealing his place in the Long Jump Final with his very first jump of 8.01m.
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Sreeshankar arrived in Glasgow as one of the favourites for the title, boasting the best season’s mark in the field at 8.38m.
His composed qualification performance reinforced his status as one of India’s strongest medal prospects, with the Kerala athlete needing just one jump to secure his place in the final.
The July 29 final offers Sreeshankar an opportunity to improve on the silver medal he won at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Four years ago, he also topped the qualification round before finishing with 8.08m in the final, narrowly missing gold to the Bahamas’ LaQuan Nairn on countback after both athletes recorded the same best distance.
Having returned strongly from injury setbacks, Sreeshankar enters the medal round in excellent form and will be aiming to convert his impressive season into Commonwealth Games gold.
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