Daijiworld Media Network – Portugal

Portugal, Jul 20: India's star long jumper Murali Sreeshankar marked a spectacular return to international athletics by clinching gold at the Meeting Maia Cidade do Desporto 2025 in Portugal on Saturday, July 20.

Competing overseas for the first time since 2023, the 26-year-old athlete leaped to a best distance of 7.75 metres on his second attempt, securing the top spot in the men’s long jump event at this World Athletics Continental Tour bronze-level meet.

In a closely contested final, Poland’s Piotr Tarkowski also recorded a 7.75m jump on his fifth attempt. However, Sreeshankar was declared the winner by virtue of a superior second-best jump—7.69m from his third attempt—as against Tarkowski’s 7.58m, in accordance with World Athletics tie-break rules.

Australia’s Chris Mitrevski took third place with a final jump of 7.68m.

This performance marks another significant milestone in Sreeshankar’s comeback journey following a serious knee injury in April 2024 that required surgery and saw him miss the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Earlier this month, the Kerala-based athlete made a resounding return to domestic competition by winning gold at the Indian Open Athletics Meet 2025 in Pune, where he jumped 8.05m.

Sreeshankar had previously secured a quota for the Paris Olympics by breaching the Olympic qualification mark with a leap of 8.37m to win silver at the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok. He last appeared at a major international event at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou, where he also bagged silver.

With this latest win in Portugal, Murali Sreeshankar has sent a strong message that he is back in form and ready to reclaim his place on the global stage.