Sreeshankar to miss Asian Athletics Championships; aims to return to action in July

Murali Sreeshankar, the Commonwealth and Asian Games silver medallist, will miss the Asian Athletics Championships which begin in the Gumi on May 27.

Sreeshankar was forced to miss last year’s Paris Olympics with a knee injury. He had to undergo surgery for that in Qatar and now after missing a full year, he is planning his return to competition carefully.

“I’m fully fit, just started my jump training….it will take some time,” Sreeshankar told Sportstar on Saturday.

“I’ll be opening my competition season only in July and most probably, it could be in Europe or in one of the Indian Open meets in India. I’m not focusing on the Asian Championships this time, my goal is to get ready for the World Championships (in Tokyo, September 13 to 21).”

National Federation Championships in Kochi from Monday

With that being the situation Sreeshankar, who was No. 2 in the World long jump performance list with his 8.41m in early 2023, will miss the National Federation Senior Championships (earlier known as the Federation Cup), which begin at the Maharaja’s Stadium in Kochi on Monday. The Kochi meet will be the selection trial for next month’s Asian Championships.

“I’ll be going to Qatar next week for my last round of consultation with the doctor there. On my way back, I might drop in at the stadium,” said the 26-year-old.