KOCHI: M Sreeshankar may be one of the best athletes India has right now, but even he is finding out how hard dealing with pressure can be. The long jumper’s most recent exploit was producing a leap of 7.93m to win gold in the national open athletics championship less than two weeks ago. The 20-year-old went into World Athletics Championship last month after jumping 8m in the Indian Grand Prix V in August, but, the World Athletics Championships proved to be a different ball-game.
“It was my first world meet and I’m not sure if I felt the pressure of seeing all these star players. I was in good form and in good condition. Only on that day, things went wrong. When I stood in front of these athletes whom I have been watching on YouTube and the internet, all of a sudden, I realised that they are such experienced and popular jumpers. Maybe there was some excitement and anxiety which might have affected my performance,” said Sreeshankar.
By his own admission, he made a series of mistakes, struggled with his technique and jump, and produced an error-laden performance.
“I’ve been watching them on the internet and when I stood next to them, maybe it was anxiety, I couldn’t jump,” said Sreeshankar.
Unsurprisingly, the Palakkad native failed to qualify for the final and his best leap was 7.62m when the qualification mark was 8.15m. With the Tokyo Olympics fast approaching, Sreeshankar is planning to seek the help of a sports psychologist to learn to have the proper mind-set while going into big tournaments.
“This year, I was under many different kinds of difficulties. I was under a lot of pressure and so, I was not able to train with the proper mind-set. We (his father and coach) are planning to work with a sports psychologist. I will consult with my sports medicine doctor and then a decision will be made. I feel that our athletes are well within reach of medals at the Olympics and World Championships. If the body condition and mind-set come together, then it is easily attainable,” he said. Besides seeking the help of a sports psychologist, he is also hoping to adjust quickly to the training methods of Indian athletics’ High-Performance Director Volker Herrmann.
Sreeshankar and his father started working with Herrmann after the Patiala Grand Prix and the long jumper opined that he is still getting used to the German’s training methods.
“There have been some changes to my training. Hopefully, my body adjusts quickly to the new training methods. I hope I can improve my technique and jump and not make errors,” said Sreeshankar.