"I needed this medal," M Sreeshankar said after winning a historic silver medal at the Commonwealth Games late on Thursday. His words, laced with emotions, reflected how much the feat meant to him and his father and coach. There have been occasions, especially after the Tokyo 2020 debacle, when he was thinking about the futility of all those training and various sacrifices. Emotionally, it left him scarred too. There was pressure on him and his father and coach S Murali.
Days before the Commonwealth Games, there was dejection. He had finished seventh with a jump of 7.96m at the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon. For someone who is capable of clearing 8m consistently, this was a huge setback. Once again a big miss. He continued training with his coach in the US steadfastly. By the time they reached Birmingham, he was in good mental and physical shape.
But on Thursday, by his own admission, he had three modest jumps before the final three. And the fourth attempt was a foul, that too by a millimetre. Sreeshankar, however, was unperturbed by the situation. "I have been in such situations earlier and I knew I needed one good jump and I knew I can clear 8m," he said. He knew he could clear leader Bahama's LaQuan Nairn's 8.08m.
The fifth attempt produced the magic, he hit 8.08m and was joint first. "Conditions were not favourable for big jumps," he said during an interaction on Friday. "During qualifying, it was good. Yesterday (Wednesday), it was cold and windy. All other jumpers too were not clearing their personal bests. In big competitions like this, it is about winning medals more than the distance cleared. I was struggling with my rhythm in the first three jumps. So I wanted to ensure I stand a chance of winning a medal."
Though he was tied with the gold-medallist, on countback (Nairn had better jumps), the national record holder was pushed to silver.As an athlete, you tend to be cautious and clear that mark first. Sreeshankar, too, was aiming for that while floating through the air in his fifth attempt. "I ensured the medal and after the fifth jump, I was more relaxed," said Sreeshankar, whose personal best is 8.36m. "Yes I needed this medal to give me confidence and I hope to do better now."
Sreeshankar's father, who was watching the action, meticulously jotted down where he was going wrong. He described all the six jumps. "He was about 50m off the take-off board in the first where he managed 7.60m, then his next jump was about 31cm off and he landed at 7.84m. Then I asked him to adjust the run-up and come forward by about 15cm in his run-up. I thought the third jump was more than 8.08m but the board showed it at 7.84m. We were surprised. Finally, the 8.08m. It was a great feeling."
He also said because of experience he managed to do this. "He has been competing in international competitions and that has given that confidence to jump bigger even at crucial times. He knew he could clear the 8.08m mark," said his father.
On whether he thought that his jumps would be like his previous big events, he said he did not harbour such feeling. "I did not have that kind of pressure. I believed that I could clear 8 metres even without hitting the board. So I was confident. I was just focussing on my rhythm and getting the take-off right at the take-off board and executing the technique properly. I thought of not going back home without an 8m jump."
Home-made athlete
His father takes care of his training. His mother caters for his diet. Sreeshankar's world revolves around his home in Palakkad. "There is no special diet," says his father. His mother, KS Bijimol, cooks with love and care and it's normal food that's served in households across Kerala.
There have been occasions when Sreeshankar and his father were summoned to the national camp. The Athletics Federation of India had insisted and, at times, even penalised them for not joining, especially after a disastrous Tokyo 2020. But they continued to put their focus on training. They have a gym at home and ground close by to train. Murali, a Southern Railway employee, has taken around 240 days of earned leaves to train his son. If encashed, those leaves would have transformed into money too. During the Covid, his father assembled a gym.
Sreeshankar suffered due to Covid last year before the Tokyo Games. But he considered it to be a learning experience. "I had lost body mass and weight and everything needed to be adjusted," he said. "I had to look into all the parameters of my jump. From technique to speed to strength every aspect had been looked into. That could have helped me improve my jump."Then there is a twist. Sreeshankar loves parotta (flatbread). "And after Tokyo 2020, I had taken shapath (promise) to not have it till Paris (2024 Olympics)."
New board technology
Sreeshankar's foul jump, his fourth, was better than 8.08m. For the naked eye, it looked like a legitimate jump as his toe did not touch the blue line. However, the new laser beam technology red flagged it. Sreeshankar was visibly distraught. The whole new board laser technology was introduced recently and Sreeshankar said it was during the World Indoors earlier this year he saw this for the first time. Unlike the 45 degree inclined board to check over-stepping, laser beam is emitted parallel to and directly above the foul line. So even if the toe doesn't touch the line while stepping, the toe may brush the laser beam and can be called a foul.
"It's a new technology I had first seen at the World Indoors earlier this year," Sreeshankar said. "It is different from the 45-degree incline (plasticine line and no-jump indicator) used earlier. I thought it was not a foul. So when I checked with the official, I told her that I did not cross the line. But the official explained to me the technology and I realised how it was a foul. After take-off, the body was cutting the perpendicular line just above the foul line and that caused the foul. If it were the old rule, it would not have been called a foul. The margin was too small."
The new take-off board is flat and there is no incline. Flags are not raised manually. There is an official who keeps the record and the jumpers can check if they want. Sreeshankar, too, checked and later said it was just a millimetre. Though the jump was not measured, he felt that it was certainly more than 8.08m and could be around 8.20m.
Not just the 23-year-old, but all the long jumpers are getting used to this technology. According to Sreeshankar, it would be prudent for jumpers to leave 3-4 cm gap between the toe and the line. "All the world's top jumpers are getting used to it," he said. "What I feel is that instead of looking for that perfect take-off, you jump about 4-5cm before the line."
According to Sreeshankar the new technology is used in bigger competitions like world championships and Diamond League and Commonwealth Games. "I have not seen it in smaller competitions like continental (bronze or silver) events. "In India, it is yet to be used. The Athletics Federation of India is hoping to use it soon so that the athletes can get used to it.
Monaco Diamond League next
Sreeshankar will be heading to Monaco later this month for the Diamond League. He missed out on Stockholm before the World Championships because of a visa issue. "So I will be back in training tomorrow," he laughs. "Today I will take rest and back to training." He is also looking forward to competing in as many international events as possible. "This medal has given me confidence and the more international competitions I get, I know I will improve."