Murali Sreeshankar became the first Indian in 45 years to finish on the podium in Long Jump at the Asian Games. The 24-year old registered his best jump of 8.19m to win the silver medal in the event. Suresh Babu was the last Indian to win a medal in Long Jump in the Asiad, way back in 1978.
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Suresh Babu bagged the bronze at the Asian Games 45 years ago in with a 7.35m effort. Murali Sreeshankar too would have liked to finish on the top spot. However he fell short by just three centimetres. China’s Jianan Wang clinched the gold medal with a 8.22m jump.
Sreeshankar started his event with a failed attempt however he recovered well and in his second attempt, with a jump of 7.97 metres. Soon in his next attempt with a fantastic jump, he crossed the 8-metre mark and landed a jump of 8.01m. With this leap, he jumped up to the second position.
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However, the jump’s legality was checked. He has a brief discussion with the umpires, explaining his side of the story. Later the jump was given as a legal jump and he scored 8.19. He was just 0.03 behind China’s Wang.
Sreeshankar did not get the finish that he wanted as he concluded his campaign at the Asian Games with a score of 8.19 start. Sreeshankar gave it his all but just by a margin of 3cm, he finished second.
Meanwhile Jeswin Aldrin also featured in the final. However it was not his day as he finished with a best jump of 7.76m in the final. He could mot replicate his recent form and finished eight in the standings.
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