World Athletics Championships 2023: Long Jumper Jeswin Aldrin qualifies for the final
The 2023 World Athletics Championships is going on in Budapest, Hungary, from August 17. The event has been a challenging one for the Indian athletes. However, Jeswin Aldrin has made it to the final of the men's long jump on Wednesday, August 23.
The 21-year-old, with his best effort of 8m in the qualifying round, entered the final as the 12th qualifier. His other two jumps were not legal. The remarkable athlete is also the national record holder.
In the men's long jump qualification, Wayne Pinnock of Jamaica had a leap of 8.54m. This is the best jump of this season in the world. Jianan Wang of China jumped 8.34m, while Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece had a leap of 8.25m.
Meanwhile, another talented Indian long jumper, Murali Sreeshankar could not make it to the final at the ongoing World Championships. The 24-year-old could only manage to jump 7.74m, 7.66m, and 6.70m in his three attempts. It is noteworthy that the automatic qualification mark in the event was 8.15m.
Earlier this year, Sreeshankar jumped 8.41m at the National Inter-State Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar. Later, at the Asian Athletics Championships held in Bangkok, he won silver with an impressive 8.37m leap. Hence, his performance in Budapest is well below the standard he has himself set.
India's campaign so far at the World Athletics Championships 2023
At this year's World Athletics Championships, the performance of Indian athletes has not been satisfactory. Only Jeswin Aldrin (in men's long jump) has advanced to the final as of now.
The 2022 Commonwealth Games silver medalist in the men's 3000m steeplechase. Avinash Sable did not even qualify for the final at the World Athletics Championships. In addition, the men's 20km race walkers, Akashdeep Singh, Vikash Singh, and Paramjeet Singh also couldn't live up to the expectations.
Other Indian athletes who could not reach the final are - Shaili Singh (in women's long jump), Sarvesh Kushare (in men's high jump), Tamilarasan Santosh (in men's 400m hurdles), Jyothi Yarraji (in women's 100m hurdles), Krishan Kumar (in men's 800m), Annu Rani (in women's javelin throw), and Murali Sreeshankar (in men's long jump).