M. Sreeshankar

Murali Sreeshankar (born 27 March 1999), commonly known as M. Sreeshankar, is an Indian athlete who competes in the long jump event. He holds the national record of 8.20 metres set in 2018.

In this Indian name, the name Murali is a patronymic, not a family name, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Sreeshankar.

M. Sreeshankar

Personal information
Born	(1999-03-27) 27 March 1999 Palakkad, Kerala, India
Alma mater	Kendriya Vidyalaya, Government Victoria College[1]
Sport
Event(s)	Long jump
Coached by	S. Murali
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	8.20m (2018 Bhubaneswar) NR
Medal record Representing  India Asian Junior Athletics Championships 2018 Gifu Long jump

Career

In March 2018, Sreeshankar cleared a 7.99 m jump at the Federation Cup in Patiala.[2] He was named in the Indian contingent for the 2018 Commonwealth Games but had to pull out 10 days before the April event after being diagnosed with appendicitis.[3] Following an emergency appendix surgery, he was placed on a liquid diet, which resulted in significant weight loss and an inability to walk properly.[4] Two months later, he participated in the 2018 Asian Junior Athletics Championships in Gifu despite having "less strength, speed and focus" from before the illness and won bronze with a jump of 7.47 metres.[2] At the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, he "struggled with run-up issues"[5] and finished sixth in the final with 7.95 metres.[4]

In September 2018, Sreeshankar broke the national record at the National Open Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar where he achieved a jump of 8.20 metres. It was also the world leading jump of the season among under-20 athletes[6] and made him the first Indian athlete to qualify for the 2019 World Athletics Championships scheduled to be held in September–October in Doha.[7]

Personal life

Sreeshankar was a state-level under-10 champion in 50 metres and 100 metres,[4] but switched from sprinting to long jump at the age of 13.[8] He is coached by his father S. Murali who is a former triple jump athlete and silver medalist at the South Asian Games. His mother K. S. Bijimol had won silver medal in 800 metres at the 1992 Asian Junior Athletics Championships.[4] His sister Sreeparvathy is a heptathlete.[1] As of August 2019, Sreeshankar is pursuing BSc in mathematics at the Government Victoria College, Palakkad.[1][9]

Sreeshankar is part of the Target Olympic Podium (TOP) scheme started by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. He is sponsored by JSW Sports and supported by JSW's Inspire Institute of Sport in Bellary district, Karnataka.[10]

References

1. "Breaking furniture, records too!". Sportstar. 24 January 2019. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
2. "Long jumper Sreeshankar finds silver lining in Junior Asian bronze". ESPN.in. 12 June 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
3. "Long jumper Sreeshankar's CWG dreams over". The Times of India. 25 March 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
4. "Long jumper M Sreeshankar looks beyond Tokyo Olympics 2020 after impressive run at European circuit". Firstpost. 25 July 2019. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
5. "Sreeshankar gets into 8.50m form, confident of big jumps this season". Sportstar. 22 February 2019. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
6. "Sreeshankar breaks national long-jump record with season's U-20 best in world". The Times of India. 27 September 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
7. "National Open Athletics: Sreeshankar and Anjali first to qualify". The Hindu. 5 December 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
8. "Long Jump prodigy Sreeshankar, on cusp of 8-metre club, eyes Asian Games and Junior Worlds". The Indian Express. 10 March 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
9. "Journey Has Just Begun, Says Record-holding Long Jumper Murali Sreeshankar". News18. 23 August 2019. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
10. "Longing to jump into international league". The New Indian Express. 6 February 2019. Retrieved 9 September 2019.

External links

• M. Sreeshankar at World Athletics