Murali Sreeshankar becomes 1st male long jumper to advance to the finals

The 23-year-old Murali Sreeshankar became the first Indian male long jumper to advance to the World Athletics Championships finals on the first day of the competitions. Sreeshankar, who had entered the championships as a dark horse for a medal at the second spot in the season’s top list, had the best jump of exactly 8m to finish second in qualification round Group B and seventh overall. Anju Bobby George was the first Indian to make it to the World Championships long jump finals and the first to win a medal. He had won bronze in the year 2003 in Paris.

On the other hand, Jeswin Aldrin, and Muhammed Anees Yahiya were the other two Indian players who failed to make it to the final round after finishing ninth and 11th in the Group A qualification round with the best jumps of 7.79m and 7.73m respectively. Those who achieved 8.15m or the 12 best performers from across the two groups qualify for the finals scheduled on Sunday.