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India’s ace long jumper Murali Sreeshankar has been ruled out of the 2024 Paris Olympics after picking up a knee injury.
On Thursday, April 18, Sreeshankar took to social media to announce the news. He stated that the injury he suffered during training required surgery.
“I suffered a knee injury during training on Tuesday, and all tests and consultations later, it’s been decided that I would need surgery, ruling me out of the one single thing I have chased relentlessly all these years. To wake up healthy every single day, and watch yourself get into the best shape of your life is every athlete’s dream. I was living it, until this incident,” he said in a post on Instagram.
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“All my life, I’ve had the courage to look at a setback in the eye, accept situations I can’t change, and work hard at dictating the outcomes of those I can. Unfortunately, in what feels like a nightmare, but is a reality, my Paris Olympic Games dream is over,” he added.
Road to recovery will be long and difficult: Murali Sreeshankar
Sreeshankar was the sole Indian long jumper to have made the automatic cut in the men’s category. He qualified for the quadrennial event after recording an 8.37m jump during his silver medal-winning campaign at the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships.
The 25-year-old, however, maintained a positive note, stating that he will work hard to overcome the setback.
"My journey to a comeback began the minute I injured my knee. This road is going to be long, difficult and will take a lot out of me. The good thing is, I have a lot to give. I will overcome this, because that's what Mamba Mentality is all about," he expressed.
Murali Sreeshankar's absence leaves India without representation in the men's long jump at the Paris Olympics as Jeswin Aldrin, who had made it to the final of the World Athletics Championships last year, is yet to meet the qualification cut-off mark of 8.27m.
