Jeswin Aldrin makes team for World Athletics Championship

The long jumper had lost his place for the meet after a string of poor performances.

Jeswin Aldrin will jump for India at the World Athletics Championships. The Athletics Federation of India confirmed his selection for the squad that will represent India on the global stage. It has been a difficult journey for the long jumper who lost his place in the final team after underwhelming performances. Having said that, he won the Federation Cup in April earlier this year with jumps of 8.26m and 8.36m (albeit wind-assisted).

That was enough to ensure direct qualification for the World Athletics Championships for Aldrin. However, his subsequent performances were well below his standards. Despite making the qualification mark, he was denied the chance to represent India on the world stage. His jump of only 7.51m at the Inter-State Championships in June was one of the many sub-par displays and the AFI cited these efforts for his exclusion.

Jumping close to 8m

Thanks to his performance at the Federation Cup, Jeswin Aldrin got the last opportunity to seal his ticket for the World Athletics Championships after AFI allowed him to take part in two selection trials. The trials took place in Thiruvananthapuram and Patiala. The athletes had a target of “close to” 8.10m initially.

During the trial, Jeswin Aldrin could jump a distance of 7.99m at Thiruvananthapuram and 7.93m at NIS Patiala. These efforts were below the bar set by AFI for a place in the squad for the prestigious event in the United States of America. 

Selection Confirmation

However, to Jeswin Aldrin’s joy, AFI president Adille J. Sumariwalla confirmed his selection citing his efforts being close to the 8.0m mark. He said, “We have decided to give him the chance to compete in the World Championships after he jumped 7.99m in the first trial and 7.93m in Patiala.” Furthermore, Aishwarya Mishra also made the squad and will represent India in the world. This is a major victory for the athletes but it was a needless situation to put them through considering the bigger picture.

While the long jumper has leapt over the obstacles in qualification for the World Athletics Championships, another athlete is struggling to convince the authorities who are blocking his way to the Commonwealth Games. Tejaswin Shankar, Indian national record holder in the high jump has been denied the chance to represent the country in Birmingham, a decision which was met with disappointment from the fans.

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