Long jumper M. Sreeshankar, the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games silver medallist, has injured his knee and will now miss this July’s Paris Olympics.
“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, Sreeshankar’s father who is also his coach, told The Hindu on Thursday.
“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.”
Sreeshankar, the No. 2 in the World long jump list midway through last year with a personal best 8.41m, tweeted about the injury and said it felt like a nightmare.
“All my life, I’ve had the courage to look at 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.
The 25-year-old from Palakkad had made the cut for the Paris Olympics as soon as the qualification doors opened on July 1, 2023, winning the Asian Championship silver in Bangkok with 8.37m (Olympic entry standard 8.27m) on July 15.
Sreeshankar, who had finished third in the Paris Diamond League last year, had planned to open his season at the Shanghai Diamond League next week but the injury has now brought his season to an early close.
“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,” said Sreeshankar.
“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 who idolises the late NBA basketball legend Kobe Bryant.
