Knee injury ends Sreeshankar’s Olympics dream
Long jumper M. Sreeshankar, the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games silver medallist, has injured his knee and will miss the Paris Olympics.
“He injured his left knee, the take-o« knee, while training at Palakkad on Tuesday evening.
“There was no inkling that something like this would happen, it happened during a short popup jump. He sat down on the pit immediately,” S. Murali, Sreeshankar’s father who is also his coach, told The Hindu on Thursday.
“He has been taken to the Kokilaben Hospital in Mumbai...they say he needs surgery and it could take about one and half years to regain his old form.”
Sreeshankar, the No. 2 in the World long jump list midway through last year with a personal best 8.41m, tweeted about the injury and said it felt like a nightmare.
“All my life, I’ve had the courage to look at a setback in the eye, accept situations I can’t change, and work hard at dictating the outcomes of those I can. Unfortunately, in what feels like a nightmare, but is a reality, my Paris Olympic
Games dream is over,” said Sreeshankar.
The 25-year-old from Palakkad had made the cut for the Paris Olympics as soon as the qualication doors opened on July 1, 2023, winning the Asian Championship silver in Bangkok with 8.37m (Olympic entry standard 8.27m) on July 15.
Sreeshankar, who had nished third in the Paris Diamond League last year, had planned to open his season at the Shanghai Diamond League next week but the injury has now brought his season to an early close.
“My journey to a comeback began the minute I injured my knee. This road is going to be long, di¢cult and will take a lot out of me. The good thing is, I have a lot to give. I will overcome this, because that’s what Mamba Mentality is all about,” said the long jumper who idolises the late NBA basketball legend Kobe Bryant.
Ernakulam steamrollers Idukki
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Ernakulam crushed Idukki by an innings and 191 runs in the Central Zone under-16 inter-district cricket tournament at the St. Paul’s College ground on Thursday.
After taking a massive 308 rst innings lead, Ernakulam bundled out Idukki for 117 in the second innings. Sivadath K. Sudheesh (4/23) and Devamurali (3/17) shared the spoils with the ball.
The other matches in South, Central, and North zones ended in draws.
The scores:
South Zone: Thiruvananthapuram 404/5 & 91/3 decl. in 16.5 overs (G. Devagiri 39) drew with Kottayam 97 & 158/8 in 55 overs (Johaan Jikupal 54, Ishaan M. Raj 3/35).
Alappuzha 226/9 & 128/3 in 44 overs (A. Abhinand 68) drew with Kollam 202 in 63.6 overs (Arjun S.Hari 44, M.Midhun 35, A. Sivakumar 3/44).
Central Zone: Thrissur 260/9 & 167/2 decl. in 30 overs (Ponnuru Joyfin 101 n.o., K.S. Navaneeth 33) drew with Palakkad 40 & 132/9 in 54 overs (Ramanath Venugopal 3/22).
Idukki 85 & 117 in 66.3 overs (Sivadath K. Sudheesh 4/23, Devamurali 3/17) lost to Ernakulam 393/7 in 70 overs (Jayadev J.Nair 173, Midhun Krishna 73).
North Zone: Wayanad 165 & 201/7 in 64 overs (Devashish 51 n.o., Sharon 3/34, Hadi Mansoor 3/75) drew with Malappuram 291/5 in 70 overs (K.P. Sharon 71, Anujith Surendran 3/40). Kannur 85 & 135 in 83.1 overs (Thejus Vinayak 30, Rahul G. Geoery 4/15, K.A. Advaith 5/36) drew with Kozhikode 138 & 68/2 in 11 overs (Tejas Kumar 35 n.o.).
Swimming training programme
The summer swimming training programme at the Indoor Aquatic Complex at Loyola Campus will start from May 24.
Boys and girls aged above ve and above can take part in the programme. For registration and other details, contact 94462 16297 & 83040 44899.
State junior basketball from today
PALAKKAD: The State Junior basketball championships will get underway at the Yuvakshetra Institute of Management Studies, Edhakkad, on Friday. Fourteen teams will vie for top honours in the boys’ section while 13 will contest in the girls section.
The Kerala team for the National championships will be chosen from this event.
Thrissur boys and Ernakulam girls are the defending champions. The groupings:
Boys: Pool A: Thrissur, Alappuzha, Kozhikode, Malappuram; Pool B: Kottayam, Trivandrum, Ernakulam, Kasargod; Pool C: Idukki, Kollam, Wayanad; Pool D: Pathanamthitta, Kannur, Palakkad.
Girls: Pool A: Ernakulam, Kannur, Wayanad; Pool B: Thrissur, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta; Pool C: Kollam Trivandrum, Malappuram; Pool D: Kottayam, Kozhikode, Palakkad, Kasargod.