JOIN USWith monkey off his back, Sreeshankar eyes Paris Glory
For nearly a minute, his countrymen held their collective breath, wiping the sleep out of their eyes. In Birmingham, Murali Sreeshankar's face, beamed on the screens, mirrored the emotion.
He had taken flight four times in the long jump final - 7.60, 7.84, 7.84, foul. It looked like he had nailed it in the fourth attempt but was called a foul by - 1 centimeter. The new technology takes no prisoners, catching even the most invisible of overstepping.
With just two attempts left to make a difference, Sreeshankar - a pre-tournament medal favourite - had to nail it.
This was a medal that India expected. Sreeshankar had consistently crossed the 8m mark this season but there was always that nagging doubt at the big events. Sreeshankar shut that down.
He was supposed to debut at Gold Coast four years ago but an ill-timed appendix burst left him fighting for his life rather than a medal for the country. It was poetic justice that it was at the Commonwealth Games that he got the monkey off his back.
"I had a good jump in the warm-ups, I felt good in the approach and I was hoping for a good jump. Unfortunately, the first three jumps were not ideal," he recounts, a little over 12 hours later.
"I was just focusing on rhythm, approach and to get the take off right. All the experience I have gained competing helped me. I was not used to these conditions but I have been in different kinds of atmospheres and situations where I was trailing after the first few jumps and coming back in the last few jumps to win. So I had the confidence.
A conviction well-earned.
A practitioner of Kobe Bryant's branded 'Mamba Mentality', Sreeshankar, as recently as in June, at the National Interstate Athletics Championships in Chennai, had left it late to nail that 'big jump'. It was the fifth jump that made the difference. So it was to be here as well.
"My father reminded me of Chennai, where I was trailing and won by just one jump. I was looking to connect that right jump at right time," he says.
After what looked like an age, the number flashed. 8.08m. He had powered his way to second, Laquan Nairn of Bahamas holding onto the top spot only on countback.
Sreeshankar celebrated, as did his countrymen - at least those who were awake well into the second AM.
"Disappointed that I didn't get the gold. I had a good jump in the fourth (attempt) but it was foul by the smallest of margins. That is sport. (But) this medal means a lot," he says.
"I have been missing out in major championships. It's a stepping stone, every journey has a humble beginning. I have to improve a lot and I am confident I will be in the best shape for Paris," he said.
As he celebrated with his father, and coach, sharing a moment and medal that was as much the latter's as his. They had walked, nay jumped, this journey together even when it seemed like the world was leading him away, especially after the Tokyo Olympics. The two had stood steadfastly together. Father leading son back to the zenith after a bout with Covid-19.
"There were a lot of sacrifices since Tokyo because of the Covid issues and the muscle imbalances I had. I had to work from zero and rebuild strength and technique due to the loss of muscle strength. We focused on each parameter - speed, balance, stability... My father designed my training so well. That is why I have been getting 8m jumps all through (the season)."
There is little time to rest. There is the Diamond League meet in Monaco next week.
Then there is the Olympic dream. His father has been preparing him for it - subliminally even. The Olympic rings adorn his bedroom mirror, the front door and the teapoy at his house as a reminder. Sreehankar got the message early too - his first email id as a fourth standard student, had 'olympicshankar' in it.
He has earned the title of Olympian but the work is on to be an Olympic medallist. And sacrifices have already been made at its altar.
"After Tokyo, I made a promise that only after Paris I will have parotta. Parotta is an emotion for Malayalis," he laughs.