Diamond League debut for CWG medallist Murali Sreeshankar

The long jumper will be the only Indian participating at the meet in Monaco.

Diamond League is one the biggest event in the world of athletics. It was formed to replace the IAAF with some better inclusions to make the larger part of the world more appealing to athletics. The Diamond League is an annual series of athletics track and field competitions consisting of fourteen of the best invitational athletics meetings. It was inaugurated in 2010 and its motive was to spread athletics’ craze out of Europe as well. On August 10th, India’s Murali Sreeshankar is going to be in action in the long jump event of the Diamond league for the first time.

Earlier this month, Sreeshankar created history by becoming the first male long jumper to win a medal for India in Commonwealth Games. He was deprived of the Gold medal by the tiniest of margins and was awarded a silver medal at Birmingham Commonwealth Games. He recorded a jump of 8.08m to win that medal.

The 23-year-old from Palakkad, Kerala, will be in action at the Wanda Diamond League in Monaco on Wednesday. It will be his debut in the Diamond League which is a big moment for any athlete and especially if the sportsperson is from a growing athletic nation like India. However, the long jumper whose PB is 8.36m would like to make amends at the premier athletic meet. He will be facing his biggest competitors from all over the world there. And to come back with a medal, he has to be at his best on that day.

A big test against the bests of the world

Sreeshankar will compete against World No. 1 Miltiadis Tentoglou from Greece. The Greek's PB is 8.60m, which is better than anyone else who will be on the track that day. And his SB of 8.36 is equalized only by M. Sreeshankar there. The other notable athlete that will be Sreeshankar’s opponent will be World No. 2 Thobias Montler from Sweden. He will also be a strong contender for winning this meeting at Monaco. His PB and SB is 8.27m, which is less than Sreeshankar’s SB and PB. But the Swedish jumper is far more consistent at hitting the marks closer to those figures.

This is going to be a big stage for M. Sreeshankar and he must be eager to deliver his top performance in this top league of the world. India will be hoping for the best for the youngster in his debut Diamond League after a successful Commonwealth Games. Indian athletics will also have a big impact when one of them performs well on one of the biggest platforms around the best names. Currently, after Neeraj Chopra, Murali Sreeshankar is one of the few names that one could categorise as a world-class talent from the pool of Indian athletes.