Tokyo Olympics: How M Sreeshankar can qualify for the final of Men's Long Jump?

Indian long jump sensation and national record holder Murali Sreeshankar will be in action on Day 8 of the Tokyo Olympics. It has only been a day since the athletics events have begun and we've already witnessed Kamalpreet Kaur storm into the final of her event with a majestic discus throw of 64m! We've also seen a few near misses such as in the case of Avinash Sable.

The question you might be wondering about here is: How can M Sreeshankar qualify for the final of Men's long jump? The answer is quite simple.

Matching his personal and season's best should do the job quite comfortably

The qualifying criterion for the final of Men's long jump dictates that the athlete must cover a distance of 8.15 with their jump. At the Indian Grand Prix in Patiala this year, Sreeshankar leapt 8.26 to comfortably book himself a slot in this year's Olympic Games. Not only was that his own personal best achievement, but he also ended up setting a national record in the process.

When competing at the Heats today, Sreeshankar's biggest opponents will not be 15 other athletes seeded in Group B alongside him. It will be the battle with his own self that'll dictate his fate. If he manages to touch or better his personal best, he will end up becoming only the 12th Indian to reach the finals of an Athletics event in the history of the Olympic Games