Under the floodlights at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Murali Sreeshankar stepped onto the run-up for his final attempt at the World Athletics Continental Tour bronze meet.
He saved his best for that jump. He sprinted forward, taking 18-19 strides before hitting the take-off board, and soared through the air crossing almost 90% of the sandpit.
The scoreboard flashed 8.13 metres. It was the long-jumper’s best performance of the season. Sreeshankar overshadowed the impressive effort of Shahnawaz Khan. The 17-year-old from Uttar Pradesh had led for most of the event with a career-best leap of 8.04m.
The athlete from Palakkad, Kerala called this win special, giving credit to the atmosphere and the people of the city. Sreeshankar had achieved his first 8m jump here and later on, he achieved his personal best of 8.41m in 2023. “This is my lucky ground. I call it the Bhubaneswar magic because whenever I come here, I perform well,” he said.
“On the runway, I have zero apprehension. Even before my last jump, I thought, ‘If the knee has to break, let it break.’” Asked about the crowd, he said: “The crowd was world-class, energetic, packed, and cheering every jump. I’ve never seen this kind of hype at a Continental Tour event, not even in Europe.”
The Commonwealth Games silver medallist feels that he’s in good shape. “I’m happy with the consistency — three jumps over 7.90m and a few that went really far.”
The past two weeks were tough for the 26-year-old as he had competed in three countries in just 10 days, which left him physically and mentally drained. “Right now, I need rest. My body is completely broken from long travels and continuous back-to-back competitions. I haven’t done this much in the past year. I’m slowly regaining rhythm. The last two weeks have been hectic.”
Sreeshankar’s return to the sport is nothing short of remarkable. In 2024, he suffered a patellar tendon rupture, a tough knee injury that could have ended his career. He underwent surgery at the Aspetar Hospital in Doha, Qatar, one of the best facilities in the world.
“My case was complicated. Even top Indian doctors felt it might be the end of my career. The doctor in Qatar told me after the surgery that my knee was now stronger. They had taken a graft from my hamstrings, wrapped my knee, and fixed it with three screws,” Sreeshankar added.
He also credited the support he got from his team in India. “My strength and conditioning coach, Dr Wayne Lombard, physio Priyambai and the AFI and SAI Trivandrum, and especially my dad. Due to them, I was able to kick those fears out of my head.”
For Sreeshankar, 2025 has mostly been about rehab and he barely got time to train for his jumps after the recovery in the start of the season. “Three sessions a week in the gym, each four hours long, so about 12-15 hours weekly. I only started jump training in spikes 2-3 months ago and had done just 8-9 jumps in spikes before starting the season,” he said.
Praise for young Shahnawaz
Sreeshankar praised Shahnawaz, who almost outdid him. The youngster from Pratapgarh in Uttar Pradesh did better than several experienced jumpers. He trains at the same facilities where Murali built his path and there’s good camaraderie between them.
“I am really happy for him.” Sreeshankar said. “He’s talented, down to earth, and hardworking. Our jumps group in Trivandrum is strong — three jumpers over 7.90m (myself, Shahnawaz, and Sunny Kumar). We push each other, and like they say, “a rising tide lifts all boats.”
This win in Bhubaneswar was Sreeshankar’s fourth straight podium finish, after events in Pune, Portugal and Kazakhstan.
Tejaswin Shankar and Neeraj Chopra
When Sreeshankar suffered the career threatening injury, it not only tested his body but also his mind. He believes that the motivation he got from Tejaswin Shankar and Neeraj Chopra helped him a lot.
“Two days after the injury, when I couldn’t even move my leg, Tejaswin Shankar called and told me, ‘If anyone can do it, it’s you.’ That lit a spark. Before surgery, I spoke to Neeraj bhaiya, who also motivated me.”
Next Stop Chennai
After this, Sreeshankar is looking forward to the Inter State Championship in Chennai, where he will try to correct his mistakes to achieve the Tokyo World Championship direct qualification mark of 8.27m.
“If I get the World Championships qualification mark, I’ll be happy and push on. If not, I’ll end the season and prepare for next year”, he concluded.