Heartbreak For Murali Sreeshankar As World No.2 Long Jumper Ruled Out Of Paris Olympics

New Delhi: India won’t be able to see Murali Sreeshankar at the Paris Olympics after the long jumper was ruled out due to a knee injury. The Commonwealth Games and Asian Games silver medallist Sreeshankar, ranked no.2 in the world, informed about his injury on social media and said ‘it felt like a nightmare’. According to his father, S. Murali, who is also Sreeshankar’s coach, the 25-year-old injured his take-off knee on Tuesday while training at Palakkad.

“He injured his left knee, the take-off knee, while training at Palakkad on Tuesday evening. There was no inkling that something like this would happen, it happened during a short pop-up jump. He sat down on the pit immediately,” S Murali was quoted as saying to Sportstar.

Sreeshankar was quickly taken to Mumbai for treatment. “He has been taken to the Kokilaben Hospital in Mumbai…they say he needs surgery and it could take about one and half years to regain his old form,” the father added.

Earlier last year, Sreeshankar had qualified for the Paris Olympics with Asian Championship silver in Bangkok with 8.37m. The Olympic qualification mark was 8.27m. The Kerala boy, who finished third in the Paris Diamond League last year, had planned to open the season at Shanghai Diamond League that is set to start next week.

“All my life, I’ve had the courage to look a setback in the eye, accept situations I can’t change, and work hard at dictating the outcomes of those I can. Unfortunately, in what feels like a nightmare, but is a reality, my Paris Olympic Games dream is over,” said Sreeshankar.

“To wake up healthy every single day and watch yourself get into the best shape of your life is every athlete’s dream. I was living it until this incident. Life writes strange scripts, and, sometimes, there is courage in accepting it and moving on. That is what I will do,” his post added.

“My journey to a comeback began the minute I injured my knee. This road is going to be long, difficult and will take a lot out of me. The good thing is, I have a lot to give. I will overcome this because that’s what Mamba Mentality is all about,” said the long jumper.