Malayali star M Sreeshankar withdraws from Paris Olympics; huge setback for India

CHENNAI: Malayali athlete and long jump star M Sreeshankar has withdrawn from the Paris Olympics. Sreeshankar decided to withdraw from the Olympics after he sustained a knee injury. Sreeshankar was injured during training last Tuesday.

"All my life, I've had the courage to look at a setback in the eye, accept situations I can't change, and work hard at dictating the outcomes of those I can. Unfortunately, in what feels like a nightmare, but is a reality, my Paris Olympic Games dream is over," Sreeshankar said in a post on social media on Thursday.

After multiple tests, it has been decided that he will need surgery, which rules him out from the Paris Olympics.

"I suffered a knee injury during training on Tuesday, and all the tests and consultations later, it's been decided that I would need surgery, ruling me out of the one single thing I have chased relentlessly all these years," the post further read.

Sreeshankar had qualified for the Olympics with an 8.37-meter leap at the Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok. The effort also earned him a silver medal in the event.

The men's long jump qualification mark for Paris 2024 is 8.27 metres.