Murali Sreeshankar took a leaf out of Neeraj Chopra's golden book, coming up with a big jump in his very first attempt to make the final in the men's long jump at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Tuesday.
The 23-year-old from Kerala, was all concentration at the top of his run-up, and got the support from the wind at the Alexander Stadium - recorded at +2.7 m/s - as he settled the nerves in the Indian camp with one determined effort that measured 8.05 metres.
Strong through his run-up, Sreeshankar hit the board hard and knew straightaway that he had accomplished his task for the day. A few moments of anxiety till the officials gave the green signal gave way to joy as Sreeshankar, who did a personal best of 8.36m this season, celebrated his automatic qualification into Thursday's final as the topper where the top-12 will compete.
Group A, where Sreeshankar competed, saw the best of action with Laquan Nairn of Bahamas (7.90m q), Jovan van Vuuren (South Africa, 7.87q), Shawn-D Thompson (Jamaica 7.85 q) also making the grade with impressive efforts.
Sreeshankar's teammate Muhammed Anees Yahiya also advanced to Thursday's final. Yahiya opened and closed with jumps that measured 7.49m but found his best on his second leap that measured 7.68m. That jump put the second Indian in the eighth place among the finalists.
Manpreet enters final
In the women's section, Manpreet Kaur came up with the best throw of 16. 78m in shot put that gave her the seventh place among the 12 finalists. A medal looks out of reach for the Indian topper with the top three finalists crossing the auto qualifying mark of 18m. Jamaican Danniel Thomas-Dodd topped the charts with 18.42 heave.
In 100m, national record holder Dutee Chand crashed out in the first round after finishing fourth in Heat 5, clocking a modest 11.55s. The cut-off for the semifinals for the top-16 came at 11.43s. The Indian ace will now be gunning for an improved show in the women's 4x100m relay.
High jumpers take direct route
With the list of entrants not big enough to conduct a qualifying round, the organisers scrapped the first round scheduled for Tuesday and it will now be a direct final in men's high jump. NCAA champion Tejaswin Shankar will carry India's hopes for a medal as he gets ready for the title clash scheduled on Wednesday at 11.30 pm IST. In the women's shot put final, scheduled at 00.35 am IST (Thursday) Manpreet Kaur will be in action.
