Sreeshankar wins Commonwealth Games silver to complete stunning return story

If the Commonwealth Games 2026 in Glasgow will have a fairytale comeback story, then it will be all about Murali Sreeshankar. After missing out on making a mark in Paris Olympics 2024, the man from Palakkad, Kerala claimed his second silver medal at the Commonwealth Games with a jump of 8.09 m in Glasgow.Sreeshankar remained in the lead during the early part of the contest, before being edged out by Jamaica's Tajay Gayle, who took gold with a jump of 8.15 m. Scotland's Stephen Mackenzie rounded off the podium spots by winning the bronze medal with a jump of 8.08 m. India's Lokesh Sathyanathan finished fifth in the standings with a best jump of 7.97 m. (Credit: Commonwealth Games website) A RETURN TO REMEMBER AT CWGFor Sreeshankar, the gold was more than just a medal—it marked the completion of a remarkable comeback. His rise began with a silver at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham before he added another at the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023, emerging as one of India's brightest medal hopes for the Paris Olympics.But disaster struck just months before the Games when he suffered a serious knee injury during training. The setback required surgery and a lengthy rehabilitation, forcing him to miss Paris and raising doubts over whether he could ever rediscover the explosive power that had made him one of the world's best long jumpers. “There was a lot of self doubt. Many doctors believed my career was over. People hardly make it back with such an injury. Yet when I went to Qatar for my surgery, they were confident of stitching me back and get me on track in 6 months, but also said it all depended on my body thereafter," said Sreeshankar ahead of CWG. On Wednesday, Sreeshankar was back to his best and it was evident with his first two attempts. Gayle and Mackenzie set the mark early by breaking the 8m barrier. The Indian star followed suite and recorded a jump of 8.03m at first. It seemed like he was in a different zone. Starting off with some heavy breaths before riling up the crowd to get behind him. This continued during all of his attempts and it was exciting to see his father and the rest of hsi family cheer him on. He then edged past both men with a jump of 8.09 m to take the lead after the second attempt and remained there till the halfway mark. Gayle finally found his groove once the second half of the competition started and he put in superb jump with his fourth attempt. The pressure was on Sreeshankar as he had fouled the two attempts after his best jump and started to push even more. Mackenzie was keeping both men on their toes as he did put in the best effort in the contest, only for it to get ruled out. The home favourite settled for bronze in the end, meaning that Sreeshankar needed an 8.16 m to clinch gold. He could only get 7.97 m in the end as Gayle walked home with the gold. - EndsPublished On: Jul 30, 2026 01:32 IST