Stuck in Palakkad, Sree rues missing Tokyo tune-ups

New Delhi, May 22

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With only two months to go for the Tokyo Olympics, long-jumper Murali Sreeshankar says lack of tournament exposure due to travel restrictions has impacted his preparations.

The 22-year-old Kerala athlete said today: “I had qualified for Olympics in March. To polish my competitive skills, there was a plan to compete in two-three international competitions, but I couldn’t travel abroad due to restrictions.”

Sreeshankar, however, considers himself lucky that despite a strict lockdown in Kerala, the state government gave him special permission to continue training in Palakkad.

He and his entire family have got vaccinated, and he’s itching to get some competitions before his first Olympics. “I am looking forward to competing in Europe but if not, then at least on the Asian circuit,” Sreeshankar said.

“A realistic target for me in Tokyo would be anything in the 8.35-8.40 m range. I could have done that in Patiala (at Federation Cup in March, where he jumped 8.26m)… But the track there is not as fast. Tokyo has the Mondo brand track, the best in the world and quite fast, so it would help,” he explained. — TNS