World Athletics Championships 2023: Long jumper Murali Sreeshankar 'disappointed' after early exit

Indian long jumper Murali Sreeshankar could not make it to the final round of the men's long jump at the World Athletics Championships on August 23. His early exit can be seen as a blow to India's hope at the ongoing event in Budapest, Hungary.

Sreeshankar's exit came as a shock to many given the the young athlete's current form. In the qualifying round of the men's long jump, the 24-year-old could only manage to leap 7.74m, 7.66m and 6.70m in his three efforts. With that unsatisfactory performance, he finished in 22nd position overall.

"Gutted, disappointed and unexpected! But so is sport and so is life. No reasons or excuses! But just matter of time I am gonna bounce back from this. Big shoutout to @AldrinJeswin for making to the finals. Let's go boyyy," Murali Sreeshankar wrote in a social media post.

It is noteworthy that Jeswin Aldrin, the national record holder in the men's long jump, made it to the final with a leap of 8m in the qualification at the World Athletics Championships. The 21-year-old was the 12th qualifier in the event.

Murali Sreeshankar's performance in 2023

Murali Sreeshankar has been in superb form this year. At the National Inter-State Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar, he produced a massive jump of 8.41 m, his personal best.

Thereafter, at the Asian Athletics Championships held in Bangkok, Thailand the talented long jumper claimed a silver medal with an impressive effort of 8.37m. He also qualified for the Paris Olympics. Some of his other attempts in the final were 8.10m, 8.11m, 8.12m.

At the 2023 Paris Diamond League, Sreeshankar secured third position with a good leap of 8.09m. All these performances are enough to show how consistent he has been at recent events, having breached the 8m mark on several occasions.

Hence, he was expected to have a good showing at the 2023 World Athletics Championships as well. It is worth mentioning that India's campaign at this big event has not been very fruitful so far.

Nevertheless, he would now aim to perform well at the upcoming Zurich leg of the Diamond League and later at the Hangzhou Asian Games 2023.