World Athletics Championships: Murali Sreeshankar qualifies for men’s long jump final

EUGENE: Malayalee long-jumper Murali Sreeshankar has become the first Indian to qualify for the men’s long jump at the World Athletics Championships. The 23-year-old Sreeshankar finished seventh in the heats and jumped 8m to directly qualify the finals.

Jeswin Aldrin (7.79m) and Muhammed Anees Yahiya (7.73m) were the other Indians in the fray, but they failed to make it to the finals. National record holder long-jumper Sreeshankar had secured second place at the Federation Cup in April with his 8.36m jump.

Meantime, India’s Avinash Sable grabbed a direct qualification for the 3000m steeplechase with a timing of 8:18:75. He had finished in third place during his heats. Kimberly Garcia Leon won Peru’s first-ever gold medal in the women’s 20km race walk at the World Athletics Championships on Friday.