BANGKOK: After overcoming uncertainties concerning his entry for the championship, M Sreeshankar got here up together with his season’s better of 8.37m. It was an effort that was near the Asian gold however then it was m ore than the Paris Olympics qualification mark of 8.27m.
“The biggest takeaway from this meet is that he has qualified for the Olympics,” Sreeshankar’ s father and coach Murali instructed TOI. “He doesn’t have to worry about qualification anymore and can focus on getting better,” he added. The coach felt Sreeshankar might have performed higher with the take-off. “Even in the big last jump he left a few on the board. Plus it came against a head wind of 1. 1m. It was a good field as the top-3 went past the 8m mark.”
The qualification interval for particular person occasions, aside from 10,000m, marathon, mixed occasions and race stroll, started on July 1 and can go on until June 30, 2024.
“I thought I had won it. I thought it was definitely above 8. 45m,” Sreeshankar stated of his Sourav Ganguly fashion celebration that noticed the officers informing him that they are going to flash a yellow card if he would not put his T-shirt again. “I was confident as my warm-up jump was close to the 8. 50m mark. But today most of my jumps were from behind the board as I tried to play it safe, especially after the foul on my second jump,” he added, expressing happiness over his Paris Olympics qualification.
Heptathlon silver winner Swapna Barman was not delighted together with her efficiency. “It was nothing great but okay as I couldn’t even train properly. Due to back pain, I couldn’t do squats for two and a half months. But I think it’s a decent show.”
(THE WRITER IS IN BANGKOK AT THE INVITATION OF AAA)