India’s best long jumper Sreeshankar Murali had planned his training and competition plan down to the smallest detail. He even took that into account pandemicWhen training resumed in October 2020 in preparation for the Tokyo Olympics. However, the national record holder had not foreseen that his plans would be derailed by the second Covid-19 Wave that wreaked havoc across the country.

The man from the Palakkad district in Kerala is the only long jumper from India who made the cut to Tokyo and secured a berth at the Federation Cup in March with a jump of 8.26 m. Since then, the 21-year-old has been training, trained by his father Murali – a former triple jumper – in his hometown. However, at the moment he would have preferred to be in Europe.

“We planned every little detail. The micro-macro seconds in October itself. That second wave in Covid was completely out of the curriculum, ”Sreeshankar said during an SAI-supported press conference on Saturday.

“According to our plan, we should have been in Europe at the moment. The moment the cases surfaced, my father said our chances of going out were getting slim and there might be travel restrictions. He guessed it right. “

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But the roadblock to travel didn’t knock down the wired BSc in math students. Instead, he has turned his attention to utilizing the resources available.

“If I get international competitions that would be great. But when things don’t work out, I like to attend national events, ”he says. “I’m in talks with the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) and they are trying to get me an entry for (events in) Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan. If I get there it would at least be of great help. “

“We have a chance for a medal”

He didn’t celebrate after that big jump in March that booked his Tokyo ticket. He was overwhelmed by a great sense of relief, but knew the cut was only a small part of his overall plan to get as close to a podium as possible. The father-son duo immediately went to the drawing board and identified technical defects that needed to be fixed.

“We mainly had to increase the speed of the last five steps,” said Murali The Indian Express.

“We also worked to extend his waiting time. He has to be in the air longer to cover more distance. Then a lot of strength training work was done – lots of half squats to strengthen his lower half, especially his legs. We plan to set up a proper gym at home ourselves. He is in very good shape now and will peak by July. “

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The youngster’s personal best of 8.26m would have earned him gold in any of the previous editions of the Asian Games and fourth place at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. But coach Murali has set himself a goal of 8.30 m for his son – which could at least bring a historic bronze at the games.

“I saw a German meeting last night and the performance of most of the international athletes has dropped. Some jumpers were a meter behind their personal best. Sreeshankar landed a few jumps from 8.30m to 8.22m in practice and I feel like we have a chance of third or second place, ”added Murali.

Training at home has produced impressive results, but Murali believes that an international training visit would further increase his chances at the Games.

“Last week, three people in my area died from the virus,” says Sreeshankar.

“It’s a difficult situation for me, but I have to keep training. I know the responsibility that I have towards the country as an athlete. I am fully committed and take every precaution to protect myself. One positive thing is that I got my first dose of the vaccine and hopefully get my second shot before the games. “