Indian athlete Murali Sreeshankar, who hails from Kerala, created history at the ongoing Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Thursday. He has become India’s first athlete to have won silver in men’s long jump at the CWG. The 23-year-old silver champion achieved the feat with a long jump of 8.08 m. While Laquan Nairn, who hails from Bahamas, won the gold medal, South Africa’s Jovan van Vuuren secured bronze in the tournament.
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According to Sportstar, Sreeshankar is also India’s fourth long-jump medallist after Suresh Babu (bronze), Anju Bobby George (bronze), and MA Prajusha (silver) who won in 1978, 2002, and 2010 at the CWG respectively.
Murali Sreeshankar’s latest win has reminded netizens of the times when the athlete was diagnosed with appendicitis four years ago and had to undergo surgery. Eventually, he couldn’t compete in the 2018 Commonwealth Games due to the diagnosis. A Twitter user, @jon_selvaraj, the sports journalist, posted a video of Sreeshankar’s performance at the ongoing games and recalled:
Murali Sreeshankar couldn’t compete and nearly died after his appendix burst just before the 2018 CWG.
-Jonathan Selvaraj
Murali Sreeshankar couldn't compete and nearly died after his appendix burst just before the 2018 CWG. The 23-year-old from Palakkad has returned to win 🥈 in the men's long jump at the 2022 CWG. In his 2nd last effort he jumps 8.08m – same as Laqan Nairn but loses on countback. pic.twitter.com/MRS2FrmR1Z
— jonathan selvaraj (@jon_selvaraj) August 4, 2022
Check out the reactions of Twitterati:
Now, this is what I call a comeback!
— Shahab Jafri (@ShahabJafri55) August 5, 2022
There can’t be one bigger than cheating on your death.
Kudos to Sreeshankar!
He is a true Champion, all the way.#India #GoldMedal #LongJump https://t.co/r06JZ6FMGM
Back from the dead moment for Sreeshankar #CWG2022 #CommonwealthGames2022 https://t.co/MUtQGctTBV
— Sudit Sengupta (@SuditSengupta) August 5, 2022
I salute this man… what a fighter. Respect!
— Rupee Dollar Trade (@irupeedollar) August 4, 2022
Inspirational https://t.co/aGQYyNzGJ6
— Sahil (@Sahilpa86232916) August 4, 2022
Ah man these stories, need a book for sure.
— Manisha Karan (@ManishaKaran1) August 4, 2022
That's amazing. Unreal. Stunning
— * (@niraj_pithy) August 5, 2022
Phenomenal stories coming out of this CWG! #CommonwealthGames2022 #CommonwealthGames #India #trackandfield https://t.co/l7mn4Htp3d
— Akshay Kurhe (@akshaynkurhe) August 5, 2022
According to NDTV, Laquan Nairn also had a best jump of 8.08m but his second best of 7.98m was better than Sreeshankar’s 7.84m. As per the rules, if two athletes are tied on same distance, the one who has a better second best effort will be ranked ahead, the report suggests. Now, let’s see what netizens have to say about this:
Why all referees seems biased for India ☹️😤 pic.twitter.com/fj7d2Sq7OS
— Ranjeet Singh 🇮🇱🇮🇳🇳🇵 (@Ranjeet_Singhhh) August 4, 2022
What a performance this was.
— The Patriot..🇮🇳 (@Indian_567) August 5, 2022
I ws watching this at1.30am,he jumped more than 8.08 in his 4th jump bt red flagged fr overstepping just by few milimtrs. Next jump he tied with no.1 i.e. 8.08 mtrs bt hd to satisfy fr silver as the second best jump ws less than no.1position holder.👏
He would have won gold if his 4th jump had counted, it was just on line and may be crossed by few mm… Proud of him !!! 👏👏 https://t.co/F20gO7Jnsg
— Rajiv Pingale (@privatevariable) August 5, 2022
Historic!! 🇮🇳🇮🇳
— Garv (ਗਰਵਿਤ) (@imgarvmalik) August 4, 2022
Murali Sreeshankar wins Silver medal 🥳🥳🔥🔥
The difference between Gold medal & silver medal 👇#longjump #CWG2022 pic.twitter.com/juZ0268W5k
As per a 2018 report by Scroll, talking about Sreeshankar, his father S Murali had earlier said, “There was a scan done and the doctor advised for an immediate surgery to remove his appendix. He will undergo surgery.”
What a comeback Murali Sreeshankar! Keep shining.