Express news service
PALAKKAD: While starting to practice long jump at the age of nine, M Sreeshankar created an email address, olympianshankaran@gmail.com. His mother, KS Bijimol, an athlete, was a bit surprised by his act as she knew how difficult it was to make it to an Olympic team. But Sreeshankar, a resident of Yakkara in Palakkad, pulled it off and qualified for the Tokyo Games with a national record of 8.26 crore.
The 23-year-old failed to win a medal in the Japanese capital but did not disappoint at the ongoing Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, securing a rare silver medal in the sport for the country with a performance of 8.08m . In the final, Laquan Nairn of the Bahamas also had a best jump of 8.08m, but his second best jump of 7.98m was better than Sreeshankar’s 7.84m.
S Murali and M Sreeshankar
According to the rules, if two jumpers are tied for the same distance, the one with the second-best effort will be ranked ahead. Sreeshankar had raised hopes of a historic medal at the Eugene World Championships in the US last month, but his best effort (7.96M) was well short of his season’s best of 8.36 m, with three of his six jumps marked with a red flag. This time he was determined. Determination has been the hallmark of the young man.
Rather, he has been trained to be this way by his family of athletes. Her father S Murali, a SAF Games silver medalist, is her coach. “They share an excellent bond, the result is for everyone to see,” Bijimol said. He was a silver medalist in 800M at the Asian Junior Athletics Championships in 1992. His younger sister Sreeparvathy is a heptathlete and is doing first year MBBS at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College.
The doors and front door of his house and the teapot in his living room have the five Olympic rings intertwined. “Sreeshankar was selected for the last Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast in Australia four years ago but could not make it as he had to undergo surgery for a ruptured appendix,” Bijimol said. Unlike most youngsters of his age, Sreeshankar doesn’t mind making sacrifices. “Don’t eat fatty food, whether it’s fried chicken or fish. Ice cream is also a strict no and she has only had tea without sugar since childhood,” said Bijimol.
Sreeshankar does not go to the movies or sightseeing because he fears losing his attention. His regular training sessions were affected during the Covid era, but Murali, who is a chief reservation supervisor with the Railways, created one for his son at his home. However, Sreeshankar is not against studies. He had secured A-plus in all subjects from Kendriya Vidyalaya.
For Plus-II, he scored 96%. He joined NSS College in Palakkad for an engineering course and was the college topper in the first semester. He dropped out and joined Victoria College for BA in Mathematics and passed with 15th rank at university level.
DIAMOND LEAGUE
M Sreeshankar will participate in the Diamond League in Monaco on August 10. He will participate in another meeting in Europe on August 30. . His mother, KS Bijimol, an athlete, was a bit surprised by his act as she knew how difficult it was to make it to an Olympic team. But Sreeshankar, a resident of Yakkara in Palakkad, pulled it off and qualified for the Tokyo Games with a national record of 8.26 crore. The 23-year-old failed to win a medal in the Japanese capital but did not disappoint at the ongoing Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, securing a rare silver medal in the sport for the country with a performance of 8.08m . In the final, Laquan Nairn of the Bahamas also had a best jump of 8.08m, but his second best jump of 7.98m was better than Sreeshankar’s 7.84m. S Murali and M Sreeshankar According to the rules, if two jumpers are tied at the same distance, the one with the second-best effort will be ranked ahead. Sreeshankar had raised hopes of a historic medal at the Eugene World Championships in the US last month, but his best effort (7.96M) was well short of his season’s best of 8.36 m, with three of his six jumps marked with a red flag. This time he was determined. Determination has been the hallmark of the young man. Rather, he has been trained to be this way by his family of athletes. Her father S Murali, a SAF Games silver medalist, is her coach. “They share an excellent bond, the result is for everyone to see,” Bijimol said. He was a silver medalist in 800M at the Asian Junior Athletics Championships in 1992. His younger sister Sreeparvathy is a heptathlete and is doing first year MBBS at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College. The doors and front door of his house and the teapot in his living room have the five Olympic rings intertwined. “Sreeshankar was selected for the last Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast in Australia four years ago but could not make it as he had to undergo surgery for a ruptured appendix,” Bijimol said. Unlike most youngsters of his age, Sreeshankar doesn’t mind making sacrifices. “Don’t eat fatty food, whether it’s fried chicken or fish. Ice cream is also a strict ‘no’ and he has only drunk tea without sugar since childhood,” Bijimol said. Sreeshankar does not go to the movies or sightseeing as he fears losing his focus. His regular workouts were affected during the time of Covid, but Murali, who is a chief reservation supervisor in the Railways, created one for his son at his home. However, Sreeshankar is not averse to studies. He had secured A-plus in all subjects from Kendriya Vidyalaya.For Plus-II scored 96%.Joined NSS College, Palakkad for an engineering course and was topper in college level in first semester.Dropped out and joined Victoria College for BA in Mathematics and passed with 15th rank at university level.DIAMOND LEAGUE M Sreeshankar will participate in Diamond League in Monaco on August 10. He will participate in another meet in Europe on 30 of August
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