Athletics | I will start my 2024 season very late, says long jumper Sreeshankar

Lin Yu Tang's 8.40m jump at Asian Championships in Bangkok surprised M. Sreeshankar. Sreeshankar achieved Olympic qualification standard of 8.27m, and plans to open 2024 season late to recover from 2023 season. His warm-up preparation and adapting to warm weather helped him win Asian silver.

Taipei long jumper Lin Yu Tang had been struggling to reach eight metres for the last couple of years. He appeared to be stuck on 7.95.

However this year, he won the Indoor Asian gold in February with 8.02m and in May produced a personal best 8.12m in an Osaka meet.

So when Tang came up with an 8.40m jump in his fourth attempt at the Asian Championships in Bangkok on Saturday, the world’s third best jump this year, M. Sreeshankar could not believe his eyes.

“I know he is a good jumper, still it was a surprise for me,” said Sreeshankar, the No. 2 in the World list this year.

This year is a long one for the country’s top athletes. After the Bangkok Asians, they will have to get ready for next month’s World Championships in Budapest and then for the Asian Games in Hangzhou in September.

The 8.37m that came with the Asian silver on Saturday also saw Sreeshankar achieve the qualification standard (8.27m) for next year’s Paris Olympics. The qualification gates for Paris opened on July 1 and the 24-year-old Indian is thrilled that he is an early bird.

“The first target in Bangkok was to qualify for the Olympics. And now that I have done that, I will open my 2024 season very late, only by May or June,” said the Commonwealth Games silver medallist.