Sreeshankar Shines with Winning Jump to Kick Off Season

Bengaluru: Indian long jumper Murali Sreeshankar made a strong start to his season, clinching the men’s long jump title at the first-ever Indian Athletics Series 2026 held in Bengaluru on Saturday.

Competing at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium, the 27-year-old stood out as the only athlete to breach both the 8.00m mark and the Asian Games qualifying standard of 7.91m. His best effort came in the fourth round, where he registered an impressive leap of 8.15m.

Sreeshankar displayed remarkable consistency throughout the event, crossing the qualification mark in all six of his attempts. His jump series read: 8.03m, 7.99m, 8.13m, 8.15m, 8.12m, and 8.10m.

This performance marked his return to competition after his last appearance at the World Athletics Championships 2025 in September. Notably, his winning jump also surpassed his previous season-best of 8.13m from 2025. His personal best remains 8.41m, while the national record of 8.42m is held by Jeswin Aldrin.

Although Sreeshankar comfortably cleared the Athletics Federation of India’s qualifying mark, this alone doesn’t guarantee his selection for the Asian Games squad. As per federation guidelines, athletes must participate in at least three domestic events, including state championships, to be considered.

In other events, Abdulla Aboobacker topped the men’s triple jump with a leap of 16.82m, while national record holder Praveen Chithravel skipped the competition.

High jumper Sarvesh Kushare, who represented India at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, secured victory with a clearance of 2.23m.

Among the women, Baranica Elangovan impressed in pole vault, while Ancy Sojan edged past Shaili Singh by just two centimetres to win the long jump.

In the men’s javelin throw, Bibin Antony claimed top honours with a throw of 77.53m.

The Bengaluru meet marked the opening leg of the 16-event Indian Athletics Series introduced this year by the Athletics Federation of India. The series now heads to Udaipur for its next stop on Sunday, followed by events in Sangrur and Ranchi next weekend.

With inputs from IANS