Murali Sreeshankar says it will be a three-way fight in National Games long jump

Murali Sreeshankar this outing as a world level tournament. Besides, the horizontal jumps are the most watched discipline in an athletics competition, he pointed out.

Sreeshankar will be facing stiff competition from the likes of his own statemate Mohammed Anees Yahiya and Tamil Nadu’s Jeswin Aldrin who in fact has a wind-assisted leap of 8.37 m.

In reply to a question, Sreeshankar said that the extensive travelling, adjusting to different climatic conditions, dealing with travel fatigue, jet lag, and competing with the world’s best was a “good learning experience”.

He was also most happy with the rise in his world rankings from the 60s at the start of the season to 6th. He acknowledged that the challenge now is to build up and find consistency on the national circuit and in international competition.

“To get there to the top will be difficult but I’m sure it’s very much possible if we have more international exposure in competitions like World Athletics Championships, continental events and the Diamond League,” he explained.

Sreeshankar said it feels the same taking part in a National Games or a national championship in Kerala colours. But he emphasized it will always be a matter of pride when he wears Kerala colours.

He is looking forward to the prospect of meeting two fellow athletes from God’s own country — baddie star and recently married H S Prannoy (whom he has not met before) as “he was our hero at the Thomas Cup”. And he would like to renew his acquaintance with Sajan Prakash, best male athlete of the 2015 Games, who will be spearheading the Kerala challenge.