Who will replace Murali Sreeshankar at Paris Olympics 2024?

Murali Sreeshankar ruled out of Paris Olympics due to knee injury.

Murali Sreeshankar, the Indian long jumper, has ruled himself out for the entire 2024 season, including the Paris 2024 Olympics, following a knee injury sustained during training on Tuesday, which necessitates surgery. Sreeshankar was scheduled to kick off his campaign in 2024 in the Shanghai/Suzhou leg of the Diamond League series on April 27, followed by the Doha leg on May 10.

Sreeshankar clinched a spot for Paris 2024 by surpassing the men’s long jump Olympic qualifying mark of 8.27m at the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok, Thailand with a leap of 8.37m.

Following his participation in the Tokyo Olympics 2021, where he managed a best attempt of 7.69m and finished 13th overall, failing to make the cut to the final round, Sreeshankar has garnered significant achievements apart from the Asian Championships medal.

He clinched the silver medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year and achieved a personal best of 8.41m, which was just 0.1m shy of Jeswin Aldrin’s national record in the Inter-state athletics championships. He also secured silver at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

Additionally, he competed at the Budapest World Athletics Championships last year and advanced to the Diamond League Finals in Eugene. To top off 2023, he was honored with the Arjuna Award.

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Who will replace Murali Sreeshankar at Paris Olympics 2024?

Sreeshankar stands as the sole Indian athlete to have secured a berth in the men’s long jump event for the men’s category. Jeswin Aldrin, who reached the final of the World Athletics Championships 2023, is still striving to meet the qualification standard. The mark to qualify for Paris 2024 in men’s long jump stands at 8.27m.

Murali Sreeshankar’s qualification for the Summer Games is unique as it stems from his achievement of surpassing the qualifying mark rather than through a quota. Unlike a quota spot, which can be reassigned, Sreeshankar’s qualification is individual and cannot be replaced.

The country can send up to three eligible athletes in the men’s long jump discipline; however, with Sreeshankar sidelined due to injury, Jeswin Aldrin stands as the only hope in men’s long jump for India, unless another athlete also breaches the qualifying mark. His qualification will be determined by the world ranking list during the qualifying period, and he currently holds the 26th position

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