JESWIN ALDRIN, 21 LONG JUMP
My main focus will be to not get injured, stay healthy and train well
When Jeswin Aldrin, then 17, arrived from Mudalur in Tamil Nadu to the Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS) in Vijayanagar in Karnataka, he felt like one of his favourite manga characters—Luffy from One Piece. “His goal is to be more free and do whatever you want,” he says. At the IIS, there was no mom or dad to monitor how much time he spent watching anime. He finally got a mobile; he could play PUBG and watch films. “In my home, it used to be very strict. I was happy being here,” he says. That’s not to say he has a free rein at IIS. It’s because of his disciplined regimen that he has emerged as one of India’s brightest prospects in the long jump.
In 2023, apart from making the final 12 in the World Athletic Championships in Budapest, Aldrin won silver at the Asian Indoor Championships with a new national indoor record. He also jumped 8.42 m at the National Jumps Competition at Bellary in March to beat the national record of his compatriot Murali Sreeshankar. He attributes the marked improvement to a change in the “overall mentality compared to last season”. “Everything has improved—focus, technique, power and speed,” he adds. On his rivalry with Sreeshankar, who will also be a top contender at the Games, he says, “We both want to be the best and push each other a lot.”
Aldrin comes from a family of sweetshop owners. In his childhood, time spent playing sports wasn’t deemed worthwhile. Aldrin credits his uncle Simon Isaac and former coach Antony Yaich for encouraging his passion and convincing his parents to do the same.
Long jump, like javelin throw, is emerging as a popular discipline in Indian athletics. “In the Olympics, only two [Indians] can go, but at the next World Championships, three can go and be in the finals, and me and Sri can be on the podium. That’s what we are aiming for,” says Aldrin. First, though, is the Hangzhou Asian Games where Aldrin hopes to achieve two targets with one jump. If he flies past 8.27 m and does so by a distance, he won’t just have a medal but also a ticket to his first-ever Olympics. “My main focus will be to not get injured, stay healthy and train well,” he says. “If I do this much, I’ll be good at the Asian Games.”