Long jumper Murali Sreeshankar soars high to earn Paris Olympic Games berth, gold for mixed 4x400m relay team

Modified Jul 15, 2023 23:02 IST

Exciting contests were witnessed across track and field events on the penultimate day of the 25th Asian Athletics Championships being held in Bangkok, Thailand.

While the national 4x400m mixed relay team battled hard to win gold on the track, India’s star long jumper Murali Sreeshankar dueled with Yu-Tang Lin of Chinese Taipei at the jumping arena for the gold medal.

The national 4x400m mixed team of Rajesh Ramesh, Aishwarya Mishra, Amoj Jacob, and Suba Venkatesan, ran in that order, clocking 3:14.70 seconds to better the national record and win gold.

With Saturday’s (July 15) performance in Bangkok, the national 4x400m mixed team also inched closer to winning a berth for the Budapest World Athletics Championships scheduled to be held in Hungary from August 19.

Sreeshankar settled for silver in the men’s long jump but was excited to have qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games with a jump of 8.37m. The Indian long jumper had a series of 8.10m, x, 8.12m, 8.11m, 8.13m and 8.37m.

“The competition was exciting and it turned out to be a good day as I also qualified for the Paris Olympic Games early this year. It will give me enough time to prepare for the Olympics,” Sreeshankar said in the post-media interaction.

Yu-Tang Lin of Chinese Taipei won gold with a distance of 8.40m. China’s Zhang Mingkun took home the bronze medal with a jump of 8.08m.

India’s dependable international heptathlete Swapna Barman overcame consistent back pain to win silver. She scored 5840 points. Last year, Swapna was planning to quit athletics due to injuries, but an extensive rehab program made it possible for her to make a comeback.

“I’ve cut down on my training load as the back pain is still there. For the last two months I’m able to do one time practice,” Swapna said after winning silver on Saturday.

India’s Sarvesh Anil Kushare clinched silver in the men’s high jump. He crossed the bar at 2.26m, a personal and season best. Korea’s Woo Sanghyeok won the gold with a height of 2.28m, while Thailand’s Tawan Kaeodam won the bronze medal (2.26m).

India’s Santhosh Kumar shifted gears in the home straight to finish third in the men’s 400m hurdles, clocking 49.09 seconds.

India’s 100m hurdles champion Jyothi Yarraji looks like a strong contender for a medal in the women’s 200m. In the semis today she posted a time of 23.29 secs, which was her season best and fastest among the finalists.

Mohammed Afzal (1:48.86 secs) and Krishan Kumar (1:48.97 secs) made it to the final of men’s 800m, while KM Chanda (2:04.55) and Lavika Kumari (2:09.06 secs) also qualified for the women’s 800m final.