Sreeshankar's injury sparks worry before Asian Games silver brings joy home

Tears welled up in the eyes of K S Bijimol as she watched her son, long jumper Murali Sreeshankar, struggle with an injury and fail to complete all his attempts in the Asian Games competition in Japan.

But those tears soon gave way to joy as Sreeshankar's best effort proved enough to secure the silver medal, turning a moment of anxiety into one of celebration at his home in Yakkara here.

Bijimol, relatives and neighbours, along with Palakkad MP V K Sreekandan, had gathered at the house to watch Sreeshankar compete.

The mood turned sombre when Sreeshankar suffered an injury during his fourth attempt, with two more jumps remaining.

Bijimol immediately contacted her husband S Murali, who is also the athlete's coach.

"They said his leg got strained. It is the same leg which underwent surgery," she told reporters.

It was a remarkable comeback for Sreeshankar, who had recovered from a career-threatening injury last year.

The gathering at the house was visibly disappointed to see him struggle with the injury.

But within half an hour, the atmosphere changed as he managed to retain the second position despite the remaining attempts by other long jumpers.

"We are happy. We were so upset when his leg got injured. Sreeshankar couldn't complete all attempts, but he gave us the silver medal. Even though he could only do three or four jumps, didn't we get the silver? We are happy," she said.

Soon, MP Sreekandan ordered laddoos and distributed them among those gathered at the house.

"He worked so hard to return after the injury. We were sure that he would win the gold. Despite being injured on the fourth attempt, he could win the medal. This achievement is as sweet as the gold medal," Sreekandan said.

Bijimol, who was also an athlete, said she could not bear the thought of Sreeshankar returning home disappointed after suffering an injury without winning a medal.

"When he got that injury, I was praying that he would get at least some medal... even if it was just one medal, he could return happily. I couldn't bear to see him return sadly with an injury. Like I said, I only wished that he would return happy. Now, after getting this injury, how did he manage to get silver? He is returning home happy," she said.

Some neighbours blamed the organisers for holding the event in the rain, claiming that several athletes had slipped and injured themselves.

"They are hosting the event while rain is pouring. Several athletes slipped and got injured. If Sreeshankar had completed all the attempts, we were confident that he could have clinched gold," one of the neighbours said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Bridge Desk. It is published from a syndicated feed)