Long jumper Murali Sreeshankar wins gold in Portugal

Indian long jumper Murali Sreeshankar made a strong comeback on the international stage by winning the men’s long jump title at the Meeting Maia Cidade do Desporto in Portugal on Saturday.

He recorded a best leap of 7.75m at the World Athletics Continental Tour bronze level meet, in chilly and windy conditions in Portugal.

“Never jumped in such terrible cold headwinds in my life,” Sreeshankar responded to a fan on social media.

The 26-year-old opened with 7.63m and went on to record his best jump in the second round. He registered jumps of 7.69m, a foul attempt, 6.12m and 7.58m to end the tournament on top.

Poland’s Piotr Tarkowski and Australia’s Chris Mitrevski finished second and third, respectively.

The Portugal meet was Sreeshankar's first international competition since the delayed Hangzhou Asian Games back in 2023.

Last week, Sreeshankar marked his return to competitive long jump with a leap of 8.05m at the Indian Open Athletics Championships 2025 in Pune.

Sreeshankar had suffered a complete rupture of the patellar tendon in his knee during a training session in April last year. It forced him out of action for a long time. He also missed the 2024 Paris Olympics due the injury.

With the World Athletics Championships scheduled for later this year in Tokyo, Sreeshankar will be aiming to achieve the qualification mark for upcoming meets.

His personal best of 8.41m still stands as one of the top performances in Indian athletics history.