Sreeshankar gears up for Diamond League in Paris

Long jumper Murali Sreeshankar has warmed up for bigger battles in a packed season. At the MVA High Performance meet in Chula Vista he jumped 8.29m, and then won the International Jumping Meeting in Greece with a season’s best of 8.18m. The CWG silver medallist is now gearing up for his first Diamond League meet this year in Paris on June 9. He will then return to India for the Inter-State Athletics, starting June 15, which is also the final selection trials for the Asian Games.

“The competitive phase of the season has just started. I didn’t want to push too hard in the first two events. In the next couple of competitions, I will be able to get into the rhythm better and go for big jumps,” said Sreeshankar, who has been training in the US from April 12. This will be his second appearance in a Diamond League meet. He competed in Monaco last year and finished sixth with a jump of 7.94m.

Sreeshankar, who came into the season after completing his rehab for a hamstring strain at the Inspire Institute of Sport, Bellary, said he will gradually look to peak for the major events. “The focus is to get my rhythm right on the approach so that I can execute the take-off properly.”

His coach and father S Murali feels they will have to carefully plan the tricky season. “It will be challenging. The Asian Games will happen in the first week of October and selection trials is taking place in the first half of June. We have to maintain form. The World Championships in Budapest is in August and the Asian Championships are in July. We have to prioritise towards the World Championships,” said Murali.

National record holder Jeswin Aldrin too will feature in the Inter-State meet. He started the season with a big 8.42m surpassing Sreeshankar for the national record. He would be eager to improve on his recent performances in Greece. In Kallithea meet, his best effort was 7.85m and in Chania Meeting (Greece) he had a best leap of 7.66m.

“Jeswin had an incredible jump of 8.42m, which only set the tone for jumpers across the world. This healthy competition will help both of us improve. Taking part in international competitions against world’s top athletes will help us prepare for events like the World Championships and Asian Games this year,” said Sreeshankar.