Sreeshankar undergoes knee surgery in Doha

NEW DELHI: Star Indian long jumper Murali Sreeshankar has undergone a surgery on his injured knee that ruled him out of the Paris Olympics in July-August.

The 25-year-old, who is a silver medallist at the Asian and Commonwealth Games, underwent the surgery in Doha.

“The surgery was successful under Dr Bruno Olory at the Aspetar Hospital, Doha. Thank you everyone for all your love and blessings during this tough phase. 18 hours post surgery and I am already walking,” wrote Sreeshankar on Instagram. Sreeshankar had injured his left knee while training in Palakkad earlier this month.

He had made the cut for the Paris Olympics as early as July 2023 when he secured silver at the Asian Championship in Bangkok with a 8.37m jump (Olympic entry standard 8.27m).

In June last year, Sreeshankar had become only the third Indian to finish in the top three in a Diamond League Meeting with a third-place finish. “Life writes strange scripts, and sometimes there is courage in accepting it and moving on. That’s what I will do. My journey to a comeback began the minute I injured my knee.

“The road is going to be long, difficult and will take a lot out of me,” Sreeshankar had stated while announcing his withdrawal from the Olympics.