Murali Sreeshankar wins silver in men’s long jump at Commonwealth Games 2026 Glasgow; two-year comeback from career-threatening knee injury
Murali Sreeshankar’s silver lining - Indian long jumper savours Commonwealth Games 2026 medal after ‘darkest days’
Murali Sreeshankar’s silver lining - Indian long jumper savours Commonwealth Games 2026 medal after ‘darkest days’
The Indian long jumper says his second straight Commonwealth Games silver is more special than Birmingham 2022 after battling back from a career-threatening knee injury.
Murali Sreeshankar admitted he will be leaving the Commonwealth Games 2026 in Glasgow with mixed emotions after narrowly missing out on gold in the men’s long jump .
However, the Indian athlete said this silver medal meant a lot more than the one he won four years ago at Birmingham 2022 because in between the two, at one stage, he did not know whether he would ever compete again.
The Indian long jumper finished second at the Scotstoun Stadium with a best effort of 8.09m, finishing behind Jamaica’s former world champion Tajay Gayle (8.15m). It was Sreeshankar’s second successive Commonwealth Games silver after Birmingham 2022 .
While disappointed that he could not produce a winning jump on the day, the 27-year-old Sreeshankar said simply standing on the runway again was something he sees as a blessing.
“I feel a bit disappointed that I couldn’t get a good jump,” Sreeshankar told Olympics.com . “Even though my take-offs were very inconsistent, it was a fun competition. The guys were jumping really well.
“And to come out here representing my country, I’m just grateful after a career-threatening injury I had in 2024. I’m just happy being here representing my country and giving my best every single time. I’ll cherish this and go back to work tomorrow.”
The medal marked another milestone in Sreeshankar’s remarkable comeback from the knee injury that ruled him out of the Paris 2024 Olympics despite having already secured qualification.
The injury required surgery and forced him to miss the entire 2024 season, leaving uncertainty over whether he could return to the highest level of the sport.
That made his latest silver even more meaningful than his maiden CWG podium.
“Last time when I won silver at Birmingham, it was really special,” he said. “But this time I’ll say that I’m more grateful.
“Because two years back, if you had asked me where I saw myself in 2026, I didn’t have an answer because I was in bed with a broken tendon and unsure of what my future held. But I just worked so hard.”
Sreeshankar revealed he often reflects on photographs from those difficult months, describing them as some of the darkest days of his career.
“I’ve been supported by a lot of people in my darkest days. It feels special because, like I said, two years back, nothing was certain,” he said. “It was one of the worst injuries an athlete can ever have, especially a long jumper. So I’m just grateful for being here.”
Sreeshankar briefly led the long jump final before Gayle produced the winning effort in the fourth round. Scotland’s Stephen Mackenzie claimed bronze with 8.08m, while fellow Indian Lokesh Sathyanathan finished fifth on his Commonwealth Games debut with a best jump of 7.97m.
The silver was Sreeshankar’s third major international medal in three years after his Asian Games silver at Hangzhou 2023 and silver at the Asian Championships at Bangkok 2023, but the Kerala athlete is already looking ahead to another shot at gold.
“For sure, I have a lot of things to work upon, a lot of mistakes I’m committing on a regular basis now,” he said. “So I just need to correct them and bring my A game for the Asian Games, and I’m sure I have another silver medal to redeem.”
By Jo Gunston and Ubaid Parkar
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