CHENNAI: While long jumper and CWG silver medallist Murali Sreeshankar may have regained his mojo post his injury, there was still one thing that was concerning him. One of his ‘weak points’ was adapting to the Mondo track, widely used across the world. The premium, synthetic athletics track made out of vulcanized rubber is considered fast and needs small adaptations before hitting the top gear.
"The only time we get to compete in Mondo tracks is when we go abroad for competition. That too in World Championships and probably some of the Diamond Leagues. So I always had issues coping up with the tracks," he said. That slowly changed in the training camp which was organised by the Athletics Federation of India in Spala, Poland. "So, when I came here, the first week I felt a bit difficult adjusting with the bounce. Because the feedback you get from the Mondo track is completely different from what you get from the normal ones. So it took me some time to settle in and to understand the track and my brain to sense the reaction from the ground," he explained.
"Now, I'm feeling really good with the surface and also connecting properly with my jumps. After a session, me and my dad told coach James Hiller of (Athletics Director of) Reliance Foundation that the Mondo mystery is finally solved for me. Because every time on the Mondo track, I perform very poorly — be it the World championships in Tokyo or the Budapest Worlds in 2023," he said.
And going forward, athletes like Sreeshankar may not necessarily have only three weeks to get used to what the world runs on. After the AFI convened their Annual General Meeting in April, AFI spokesperson and World Athletics vice president Adille Sumariwalla had said that 90 per cent of the tracks in India are substandard. As the nation is set to receive the Commonwealth Games flag to host the 2030 edition in Ahmedabad, the next four years will be crucial in setting up the basic infrastructure.
‘Not far away from big jump’
After a string of eight-metre jumps this season, Sreeshankar felt that everything is connecting well, apart from a few technical tweaks. "I have been able to develop a lot of things in the right direction after surgery. I could not work on a lot of factors because of the injury. I had very little time to train. But this time around I was able to put in some good work like a proper athlete. My physical conditions are back to how I felt before the injury or even better. But I still feel that there is a big jump still in me," he said.
While in isolation Sreeshankar feels all the more better, it is about connecting it together, right from the run-up to the launch. "I'm getting these consistent results only because my physical conditions are pretty much good. My jumping abilities have been better than before. I'm able to propel myself quite nicely and decently in the air for so long.
"So, that is the reason why even if I am taking off way behind the board also, I am able to land somewhere around an eight-metre mark. I feel that once I get all these things done and all the different parameters align properly, then I'll get that big jump. And I'm eagerly waiting for that day when I connect everything," he said.