New Delhi [India], April 26 : India's top long jump athlete and Commonwealth Games medalist Murali Sreeshankar underwent successful knee surgery this week in Doha, Qatar, after sustaining an injury that ruled him out of the 2024 Paris Olympics to be held in July-August this year.
The 25-year-old, placed seventh in the world rankings, injured his left knee while training at Palakkad, his hometown, earlier this month. He ruled himself out of the marquee multi-sport event as he opted for surgery following a series of consultations and tests, as per Olympics.com.
"The surgery was successful under Dr Bruno Olory at the Aspetar Hospital, Doha," Sreeshankar informed through his social media handle.
"Thank you everyone for all your love and blessings during this tough phase. 18 hours post surgery and I am already walking," he added.
He also represented India at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics but did not make it to the finals. However in the following year, he captured a silver medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Last year, Sreeshankar breached the entry mark for Paris 2024 of 8.27 m, with a 8.37 m jump at Asian Athletics Championships in July and bagged the silver medal.
He was the third long jumper from India to finish in the top three of the Diamond League meet in Paris and captured a silver medal at the Asian Games held in Hangzhou last year. He also participated in the Budapest World Athletics Championships last year and qualified for the Diamond League Finals in Eugene.
Sreeshankar was supposed to start this year's season with the Diamond League event in Shanghai/Suzhou in April before competing in the Doha leg of the event on May 10.
Sreeshankar is the only Indian athlete with an Olympic quota in the long jump category.