Murali Sreeshankar is an Indian athlete who is known for his specialization in long jump. He holds the national record of 8.26 metres jump at the Federation Cup held in Patiala, Punjab in 2022.
Wiki/Biography
Murali Sreeshankar was born on Saturday, 27 March 1999 (age 23 years; as of 2022) in Palakkad, Kerala. His zodiac sign is Aries. He did his schooling at Kendriya Vidyalaya, Kanjikode. In 2017, he got admitted to NSS College of Engineering, Palakkad to pursue a bachelor’s degree of Science (mathematics). He also attended the Government Victoria College, Palakkad.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 9″
Weight (approx.): 65 kg
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
Murali’s father’s name is S Murali, who is an Indian Railways employee and former triple jumper. His mother’s name is KS Bijimol, who is a former 800m runner. He has one sister, Sreeparvathy, who is a heptathlete.
Religious Views
Murali follows Hinduism.
Career
In March 2018, he participated in the Federation Cup, held in Patiala and made a 7.99 m jump in the event.
In the same year, his name was withdrawn from the 2018 Commonwealth Games after he was diagnosed appendicitis.
Later in 2018, he participated in the 2018 Asian Junior Athletics Championships, held in Gifu and won a bronze medal with a jump of 7.47 metres. In the same year, he participated in Asian Games in Jakarta and held the sixth position with 7.95 metres jump.
In September 2018, he broke the national record at the National Open Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar where he achieved a jump of 8.20 metres after which he became the first Indian athlete to qualify for the 2019 World Athletics Championship.
He could not qualify the finals in the World Championship that was held in Doha. In 2021, he made a national record of 8.26m jump at the Federation Cup in Patiala in March 2021, but could not enter the final. At the 2022 World Athletics Championships, he qualified for the final round and finished seventh with a jump of 7.96 m.
Records
- He is the only Indian long jumper to qualify for the Olympics (as of 2022).
- In 2022, he set a national record of 8.26 metres in the Federation Cup held in Patiala, Punjab in 2022.
Facts/Trivia
- Murali is coached by S. Murli, his father, and Bedros Bedrossian, who is his international coach.
- His hobbies include spending time with friends, playing mobile games, and watching movies.
- In an interview, his father said that when Sreeshankar was a kid, he was very active and used to run and jump on the sofa in his house. When he was four years old, he used to accompany his father, who was a former triple jump athlete and silver medalist at the South Asian Games to the ground, where his father noticed his potential as a sprinter. Sreeshankar started practicing 50 metres and 100 metres, but later switched to long jump when he turned thirteen.
- After his schooling, he appeared in NEET exam and stood second in Kerala on sports quota.
- His father took him to the Government Medical College ground at Palakkad in Kerala to get him prepared for the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
- In 2018, after he was diagnosed with appendicitis, he went through a surgery and was unable to walk properly after being put on a liquid diet. In an interview, he talked about his medical condition and said,
Initially, the doctors felt it was indigestion and sent me back with medicines for the pain. It was only after I completely collapsed that they performed an ultrasound and they diagnosed me with a ruptured appendix, For five days I was on a drip. When I finally returned home, I found I had lost six kilograms (almost ten per cent of his original body weight of 65kg). I had accepted I wouldn’t be going for the Commonwealth Games but I was hoping to do well at the World Junior Championships (in July) and at the Asian Games. It was a horrible time for me. One day you are in the best shape of your career and the next day you wake up and realise your dreams are shattered.”
- On 29 May 2022, he won a gold medal in Greece with a 7.95m jump at Venizeleia-Chania 2022 athletics meet.
- Sreeshankar is part of the Target Olympic Podium (TOP) scheme started by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
- In an interview, Sreeshankar said that his father quit drinking to focus on his son’s training. He further said that his father was very strict during the practice sessions, but if Sreeshankar lost at an event, his father would not scold him and asked him to focus on the next match. In the interview, he further said,
During training, he shouts if I don’t do something properly. He gets really furious if you touch the phone during practice. He sometimes has some “encouraging words” for me in Malayalam as well which you can’t even imagine.”
- His father was removed as his coach by the Athletics Federation of India because they were unhappy with his coaching programme. In an interview, his father talked about this and said,
I always felt hurt when I was told that I don’t know anything. I studied in a sports college, studied under several coaches, and was in the national camp for over 10 years. I have competed in the domestic circuit for many years. I can see changes much faster.”