Indian jumper Murali Sreeshankar claims consecutive Asian Games silver
Indian athlete Murali Sreeshankar earned his second consecutive silver medal in men's long jump at the Asian Games 2026. Competing in Aichi-Nagoya, he recorded a best leap of 8.07m on Monday to secure his spot on the podium. This achievement perfectly mirrors his runner-up finish at the Hangzhou 2023 edition, according to official updates from the Athletics Federation of India. Competition in the men's long jump final proved incredibly tight, with just 12 centimetres separating the top four contenders. Chinese athlete Shi Yuhao took home gold by clearing 8.17m, marking his best jump of the season. Sreeshankar edged out Uzbekistan's Anvar Anvarov by a mere one centimetre, as Anvarov claimed bronze with an 8.06m effort. Taiwan's Lin Yu-tang narrowly missed out on a medal, finishing fourth with 8.05m.
Sreeshankar initially reached the final by qualifying second overall with a 7.84m jump. Once in the final stage, he broke the eight-metre barrier and held his ground firmly in the upper rankings. David Solomon Patturaj, another Indian participant in the event, concluded his campaign in seventh place after clearing 7.70m.
Indian track and field athletes have consistently delivered strong performances at continental tournaments, establishing regional dominance in key disciplines. Monday brought several other triumphs for the national squad to reinforce this trend. Parul Chaudhary earned her second bronze of the tournament in the women's 5000m, finishing in 15:14.61. Vithya Ramraj won bronze in the 400m hurdles with a personal best of 54.75s, breaking the national record she previously shared with PT Usha. Furthermore, Gulveer Singh secured silver in the men's 1500m by clocking a personal best of 3:36.72. These recent victories push India's total medal count to 43, including four gold, 19 silver, and 20 bronze. India now occupies the 12th spot in the overall standings, heavily boosted by 17 medals from athletics alone.
With Inputs from Agency Threads and Image Courtesy: ANI
