Murali Sreeshankar wins gold at MVA High-Performance athletics meet

Indian long jumper Murali Sreeshankar claimed the gold medal with a leap of 8.29m at the MVA High-Performance athletics meet 1 held in Chula Vista, USA.

Competing in only his second event of the season, the 24-year-old, who had won a silver at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, produced a creditable effort that was just 0.07m off his personal best of 8.36m made last year.

China's Ma Weidong secured the silver medal with a 7.99m leap, while his compatriot Huafeng Huang claimed the bronze with an effort of 7.61m.

The qualifying standard for World Athletics Championships 2023, which is scheduled in Budapest this August, is 8.25m and Sreeshankar's effort was over it but was not considered as tailwinds were over permissible limits.

The maximum permissible wind speed is +2 m/s, while Sreeshankar's effort came with a wind speed of 3.1m/s.

Sreeshankar will be competing in Diamond League this year which he confirmed on the sidelines of IGP. "After training in Texas, I will move to Europe and will compete in some Diamond League meets too," Sreeshankar had told The Bridge.

Sreeshankar had a 7.94m jump at the Indian Grand Prix in Bengaluru earlier this month. Sreeshankar held the men's long jump national record in India with his 8.36 jump but it was surpassed by Jeswin Aldrin with an effort of 8.42m at the second Indian Open Jumps Championships in March.

The 24-year-old, who had sustained a Grade 2 hamstring injury, revealed that he was happy with how his return to the long jump pit turned out. "I had to start the season a bit late due to the injury I picked up during the National Games, but the training and preparations have been going great," told Sreeshankar.

With Asian Games and World Championships in sight, Sreeshankar will be training in Greece under the TOPS scheme.