Sreeshankar, Yahiya qualify for long jump final

Murali Sreeshankar knew he had achieved a big jump straight up. Excited, he turned to his father and coach sitting in the stands, gesturing as he waited for the result to flash. It was 8.05m, the best among all qualifiers as it carried him into the long jump final at the Commonwealth Games.

At Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium, Sreeshankar hit the board to underline good rhythm in his run-up and took off strongly. The qualifying mark was set at 8m, or the top 12 to advance to the final. In the 20-man field, only the 23-year-old breached the standard. Bahamas' Laquan Nairn qualified second (7.90m) and South African Jovan van Vuuren (7.87m) was third.

India’s Muhammed Anees Yahiya, who was in the other qualifying group, also made it to the final with a clearance of 7.68m which placed him eighth overall. Yahiya has a season’s best of 8.15m.

The long jump final is scheduled on Thursday.

Since India’s biggest athletics star, Olympic champion and world silver medallist Neeraj Chopra, pulled out of the CWG due to injury, the spotlight was on Sreeshankar in track and field. With a season’s best of 8.36m, Sreeshankar heads the 12-man field in the final. However, there will be enough challenge going by the personal bests of the other jumpers. Eleven of them have cleared 8m, with eight crossing the mark this season. At second place is Australian Henry Frayne (8.34 personal best) followed by Andwuelle Wright of Trinidad and Tobago (8.25m).

Sreeshankar has bounced back this season after the low of the Tokyo Olympics. Though he would be disappointed with his performance at the recent world championships where his best in the final was 7.96m—it placed him seventh—the CWG presents an excellent medal opportunity. He also touched 8m in the qualification at Eugene. He has consistently crossed 8m this year. While his 8.36m came at home, in the Federation Cup in April, he jumped 8.31m at the International Jumping Meeting in Greece, his best effort overseas.

In women's shot put, Manpreet Kaur qualified for the final with a throw of 16.78m in her third and last attempt. She started with 15.83m and achieved 16.68m in his second attempt. She was seventh among the 12 throwers who qualified, led by Jamaican Danniel Thomas Dodd (18.42), Canada's Sarah Mitton (18.24) and New Zealand's Maddison-Lee Wesche (18.08). Only three throwers breached the qualifying mark of 18m. Mitton will be a strong favourite having finished fourth at the worlds (19.77m), missing out on bronze to Netherlands's Jessica Schilder on a countback.

Kaur, 31, has a personal best of 18.86m, achieved in 2017. Her season's best is 18.06m which came at the inter-state meet in June. The women's shot final is on Wednesday.

In women’s 100m heats, Dutee Chand ran a poor 11.55 seconds to finish fourth and failed to qualify for the next round. She was way off her personal best of 11.17s she ran last year.

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