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Indian long jumper Murali Sreeshankar admitted he was "happy" to win a second consecutive Commonwealth Games silver medal but remained "not satisfied" after falling short of his goal of clinching gold in the men's long jump at the Glasgow 2026 Games.
The 27-year-old, who finished second at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games as well, registered a best leap of 8.09m to claim silver behind Jamaica's Tajay Gayle, who won the title with an effort of 8.15m. Scotland's Stephen Mackenzie secured the bronze medal with 8.08m. Reflecting on his performance, Sreeshankar told ANI, "We always aim for a gold medal performance. I am happy with the silver but not satisfied because this was not the jump I was expecting. I wanted to have a big jump and win the gold medal for my country, redeem the silver medal from Birmingham. But I'm happy, I'm being grateful, just being here representing my country at the Commonwealth Games, because I know what I've been through in the last two years, and thanks, everyone." Sreeshankar remained in contention for the gold throughout the competition and headed into his final attempt needing to surpass Gayle's leading mark. However, his sixth jump measured 7.97m, leaving him six centimetres short of the Jamaican. The silver medal made Sreeshankar the first Indian men's long jumper to win two Commonwealth Games medals, adding another landmark achievement to an already distinguished career. The Kerala athlete's latest success also marked a remarkable comeback after missing the Paris 2024 Olympics following surgery for a serious patellar tendon injury. He returned to international competition determined to reclaim his place among the world's leading long jumpers and delivered another podium finish on the Commonwealth stage. Born in Palakkad to former athletes, Sreeshankar was introduced to the sport by his father and coach, S. Murali, a South Asian Games triple jump silver medallist, while his mother, KS Bijimol, was an accomplished middle-distance runner. He has consistently been one of India's premier field athletes, with a personal best of 8.41m and silver medals at the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships and the Hangzhou Asian Games before adding another Commonwealth Games silver to his collection. India also had another representative in the men's long jump final, with Lokesh finishing fifth on his Commonwealth Games debut after recording a best effort of 7.97m. Sreeshankar's silver was India's 13th medal at the Glasgow Games and helped the country finish Day 7 with an overall tally of 15 medals--three gold, nine silver and three bronze. India's medallists so far are Mirabai Chanu (gold, weightlifting), Sharmila Dhankar (gold, women's shot put F57), Dilip Mahadu Gavit (gold, men's T47 100m), Mohammed Basil Morssinganakth (silver, men's T47 100m), Murali Sreeshankar (silver, men's long jump), Rishikanta Singh (silver, weightlifting), Muthupandi Raja (silver, weightlifting), Gyaneshwari Yadav (silver, weightlifting), Sarvesh Kushare (silver, men's high jump), Gulveer Singh (silver, men's 10,000m), Harjinder Kaur (silver, weightlifting), Valluri Ajaya Babu (silver, weightlifting), Bindyarani Devi (bronze, weightlifting), Shilpa K. Shyla (bronze, women's shot put F57) and Jhandu Kumar (bronze, para powerlifting). (ANI)
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