PM Modi praises long jumper Murali Sreeshankar in Paris Diamond League

New Delhi (Best Hindu News): Prime Minister Narendra Modi has congratulated long jumper Murali Sreeshankar for finishing third at the Golden League Athletics Meet in Paris. Sreeshankar finished third in the men’s long jump event at the Paris Diamond League 2023 with an impressive effort of 8.09m.

PM Modi wrote in a tweet on Saturday, Sree Shankar Murali created history with a stellar performance at the Paris Diamond League! His remarkable jump fetched him a coveted bronze medal, giving India its first ever medal in long jump in the Diamond League. Congratulations to him and best wishes for his upcoming endeavours.

Murali made his best jump in the third attempt on Friday night. An effort of 8.09 m placed him in second place, only behind reigning Olympic and Diamond League champion Miltiadis Tantoglu of Greece, who won the Paris Diamond League with a jump of 8.13 m.

However, a foul by Murali in the fourth attempt and a jump of 8.11m by Switzerland’s Simon Ehmer pushed the Indian long jumper to third place. Sreesankar’s fifth attempt had a distance of 7.99m and his sixth attempt ended in a foul.

This was Sreesankar’s second appearance in the Diamond League. Last year in Monaco, he had finished sixth with an effort of 7.94m. His personal best jump is 8.36m which he logged last year.

Notably, India’s national record in men’s long jump is held by Jessvin Aldrin, who cleared 8.42m earlier this year.

The 24-year-old Sreeshankar entered the Paris leg of the Diamond League on the back of three gold medals in a row. She had won the World Athletics Continental Tour bronze in Kallithea, Greece last month with a season’s best jump of 8.18m and made the cut for the upcoming Asian Games in China.

The meeting in Paris was the fourth stage of the Diamond League, an annual series of top-level track and field competitions organized by World Athletics. However, this year was the first time that the men’s long jump was included in the list of events.

In the Diamond League, points are awarded to athletes based on their performance in each stage and the top eight athletes in each event qualify for the finals. This year, the Diamond League final will be held on September 16 and 17 in Eugene, USA.