New Delhi: Indian long jumper Murali Sreeshankar continued his remarkable comeback by securing the gold medal at the Qosanov Memorial 2025 athletics meet in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The 26-year-old leapt to a winning distance of 7.94 meters on his very first attempt, sealing the top spot at the World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze label event.
Sreeshankar’s closest competitor, Janry Ubas of the Philippines, managed 7.53 meters to finish second, while Azerbaijan’s Nazim Babayev took third with a jump of 7.48 meters.
This win marks Sreeshankar’s third straight victory since returning from a serious knee injury sustained in April last year. Although he had qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics, he was forced to withdraw after undergoing surgery. The Qosanov Memorial gold adds to his recent wins at the Indian Open in Pune, where he registered a jump of 8.05 meters, and the Meeting Maia Cidade do Desporto in Portugal with 7.75 meters.
His last major international appearance before the injury was a silver-medal finish at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
Sreeshankar is now scheduled to compete across Europe and Central Asia through August 14 as he targets qualification for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo this September.
