Sreeshankar pips Anees, marks return in style

Express News Service

KOCHI:   As expected, it turned out to be a hotly-contested battle between M Sreeshankar and Muhammed Anees Yahiya in the long jump event of the 1st Indian Open Jumps Competition at the Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium on Tuesday.

Sreeshankar went on to pip Anees to the top spot with a jump of 8.17m as the national record holder looks to be slowly getting back to form after his poor show at the Tokyo Games. It was also his third-best jump ever to mark his return to action.

Anees wasn’t far behind as he finished second with a jump of 8.15m. Yugant Shekar Singh of Uttar Pradesh came a distant third with a performance of 7.61m. “I was aware that there was a lot of focus on me and I felt I had a point to prove. Following all the talk after the Olympics about my performance, my father (who is his coach) and I really wanted to put in a good performance.

It was a good rivalry with Anees today and he did push me to perform better and gave me a scare. I am glad that I was able to do well and now I am really focused on the season ahead. I need to try and go past my own personal best,” said Sreeshankar.

After Sreeshankar had produced a jump of 8.14m in his first attempt, Anees bettered it with a performance of 8.15m with his last jump to put the pressure back on his rival. Sreeshankar went on to produce a winning jump of 8.17m and with that, he now has three of the four best jumps by an Indian. The 22-year-old feels that it was important to have a strong start to the season, especially with a lot of big events coming up.

Results (winners):  1st Indian Open Jumps Competition
Men: Long Jump: Sreeshankar (Ker) 8.17m; High Jump: Chethan Balasubramanya (Kar) 2.09m; Triple Jump: Eldhose Paul (Ker) 16.93m; Pole Vault: Avneesh Kumar (UP) 4.90m; WOMEN: High Jump: Abhinaya Shetty (Kar) 1.82m; Long Jump: Ancy Sojan (Ker) 6.51m; Triple Jump: Aleena Jose (Ker) 12.68m; Pole Vault: Pavithra Venkatesh (TN) 3.90m.