Sreeshankar makes strong return from injury at Indian Open 2025

M. Sreeshankar made a strong return to competition after a long injury lay-off with the Indian Open Athletics in Pune on Saturday.

His 8.05m — best by an Indian this season — won him the first place in the meet at the Savitribai Phule University Sports Complex.

Sreeshankar last competed more than 650 days ago in the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou. He was forced to miss the 2024 Paris Olympics after he suffered a knee injury, which required surgery.

The 26-year-old started with 7.84m and improved it to 7.99m before he went past the 8m mark with his fourth jump but missed the World Championships qualification mark (8.27m).

Sreeshankar is aiming to qualify for the World Championships later this year in Tokyo and keeping himself in the mix for next year’s Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.

“I had a patellar tendon rupture, commonly known as ‘jumper’s knee.’ I completely ruptured my patellar tendon and had to undergo major knee surgery. To be honest, it was potentially a career-ending injury because the patellar tendon is crucial for me. The initial days after surgery were quite challenging,” Sreeshankar told Sportstar in January of his injury.