Murali Sreeshankar, the Indian long jump athlete, continued his comeback journey by claiming the top spot at the Qosanov Memorial 2025 athletics meet in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The 26-year-old athlete secured the gold medal with a jump of 7.94m in his first attempt. Janry Ubas of the Philippines came in second with 7.53m, while Nazim Babayev of Azerbaijan finished third with 7.48m.
This victory marks Sreeshankar's third consecutive win since returning from a knee injury that sidelined him for over a year. He had to undergo surgery, which unfortunately caused him to miss the Paris 2024 Olympics. Despite securing a quota for the Olympics, the injury prevented him from participating in the global event.
Sreeshankar's return to the track began last month with a win at the Indian Open in Pune, where he recorded a jump of 8.05m. He followed this up with another victory at the Meeting Maia Cidade do Desporto in Portugal, with a jump of 7.75m.
Before his injury, Sreeshankar's last international appearance was at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou, China, where he won a silver medal. He is also a medalist at the Asian Athletics Championships and Commonwealth Games.
Sreeshankar is scheduled to compete in Europe and Central Asia until August 14, with the aim of qualifying for the World Championships in Tokyo this September. To qualify for the World Championships, he needs to meet the men's long jump qualification standard of 8.27m.
Sreeshankar's journey has been marked by overcoming challenges. In April 2024, a knee injury during a training session in Kerala led to a major surgery after his patellar tendon ruptured. The recovery was slow, but he remained determined to return to competition.
In July 2025, Sreeshankar expressed his determination to make a significant impact. He opened with a 7.84m jump and gradually improved with each attempt, eventually surpassing the 8m mark.
Sreeshankar's achievements include a silver medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, making him the first male long jumper from India to win a silver medal at the Games. He also qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics with a jump of 8.26m at the Federation Cup in Patiala.
Sreeshankar is supported by JSW Sports and the Inspire Institute of Sport. He is also part of the Target Olympic Podium (TOP) scheme started by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
