Murali Sreeshankar’s inspiring comeback gathers momentum

Sreeshankar has defied the odds, and that’s what we need to celebrate.

I have always looked for resilience in an athlete. The desire or the deep hunger for success. For high-performance athletes, things can never be smooth. And in the case of Murali Sreeshankar, who had the worst possible injury, the chances of making it back in a short timeframe were almost nil. And yet, he is back, with 8.05 m in his comeback attempt and thereafter 8.13 metres in the World Athletics Continental Bronze Level meet in Odisha. Sreeshankar has defied the odds, and that’s what we need to celebrate.

“The qualifying [mark] for the World Championship is 8.27 metres,” said Sreeshankar. “And I can tell you that I had indeed done an 8.30m jump in Bhubaneshwar. It was deemed a foul by a whisker, else it was enough for me to make it to Tokyo.”

After a pause, he added, “There was a lot of self-doubt. Many doctors believed my career was over. People hardly make it back with such an injury. Yet, when I went to Qatar for my surgery, they were confident of stitching me back and getting me on track in six months. But they also said it all depended on my body thereafter. I have never abused my body. Never smoked or had alcohol or much junk food. It was my body that returned me the favour, and I was always ahead of the curve in the course of my recovery.”

Coming back from a career-threatening injury is often the biggest challenge an athlete faces. “It was an everyday thing,” said Sreeshankar. “I did not rush and just stayed patient. It was very difficult, Sir, but there was no other option. So I would tell myself that I needed to bend my knee a few degrees more every day, then walk properly in some months, and only then should I jump. And when I jumped, it started with 3 metres. Then 4 and 5, and 6. Finally, on April 16, I jumped 7 metres, and in July, in my comeback competition, I jumped 8.05. Now, I am feeling good about my body and enjoying being an active athlete again.”

His voice couldn’t conceal the relief or the joy. “I have to ice the knee every day and take care of it,” continued Sreeshankar. “But it doesn’t matter. I have said to everyone that we must treat it as a bio hack. Not as a surgery. This is a new knee, and it is as good as it was in the past. There is nothing that we can’t do, and I will try my best to make it to the World Championship by breaching the qualifying mark in Chennai at the nationals.

“But even if it doesn’t happen, it is fine. This season is more about the rehab and the comeback. Next year, I want to be at my best again for the Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, and the Diamond League.”

As he prepared to leave and catch another flight, seeing the curiosity on my face, Sreeshankar said, “Sir, I am jet-setting from one flight to another. It is a quest to make the World Championship, so I am just a little tired. But mentally, I am feeling great again, and that’s what will keep me going.”

He is an inspiration, and I wish him all the very best.