Birmingham: India’s Malayali star M. Sreesankar made a brilliant Commonwealth Games debut. The medal is due to the excellence of 8.08 meters jumped in the second round of the final round. Laquan Nairn of the Bahamas who reached 8.08 meters in the second set won the gold and Joan Van Vuuren of South Africa won the bronze with 8.06 meters.
India’s other Malayali player Muhammad Anees (7.97) finished fifth. The Palakkad native is the first male athlete to win a silver medal in long jump for India at the Commonwealth Games. Anees jumped third and Sreesankar fourth in the first set. Anees’ start was fouled while Sri’s was 7.60m. When this set was over, five stars were above Sreesankar. All but below eight meters. Anees 7.65 and Sreesankar 7.84 in the second set. Laquan (8.08) and Joan (8.06) went above eight. Anees rose to 7.72 in the third set while Sri remained at 7.84.
Indian players finished sixth and eighth in the final round. There were eight people in this round. Anees jumped to 7.74 starting this. But Sreesankar’s was a foul. In the next round, Anees jumped 7.58 meters while Shri regained his brilliant form and jumped 8.08 meters to reach the silver medal spot. In the final round, Anees improved to 7.97 and moved up to fifth place.
Shree Shankar, Lakwan and Jovan in Toptri round. Joan’s first jump was fouled. Sreesankar’s also resulted in a foul. Laquan also finished at 7.98. India’s Sudhir wins gold in men’s heavyweight para powerlifting. With this, India’s gold in the Games has become six.