Star Indian long jumper Murali Sreeshankar has undergone a successful surgery on his injured knee that ruled him out of the upcoming Paris Olympics in July-August. The surgery was performed at the Aspetar Hospital in Doha by renowned French orthopedic surgeon Dr. Bruno Olory. Sreeshankar, who is a silver medalist at the Asian and Commonwealth Games, sustained the injury during training in Palakkad earlier this month. Despite securing a silver at the Asian Championship in Bangkok with an 8.37m jump, the injury prevented him from competing in the Paris Olympics.
The 25-year-old Sreeshankar had made the cut for the Paris Olympics as early as July 2023 based on his performance at the Asian Championship. He also became only the third Indian to finish in the top three in a Diamond League Meeting with a third-place finish in June last year.
In a statement announcing his withdrawal from the Olympics, Sreeshankar wrote, ‘Life writes strange scripts, and some times 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’s successful surgery is a positive step in his recovery, and he is already walking 18 hours after the procedure. However, the road to recovery and a comeback will be a challenging one, and it remains to be seen when he will be able to return to competition.
