Aldrin qualifies for maiden World Athletics C’ships long jump finals
Murali Sreeshankar had a disappointing series of 7.74m, 7.66m and 6.70m
National record holder long jumper Jeswin Aldrin qualified for his maiden World Athletics Championships finals but fellow competitor Murali Sreeshankar made a shock exit at the qualification round after his worst performance of the season here on Wednesday.
Javelin thrower Annu Rani, also a national record holder but struggling for form for some time, produced her second worst performance of the season with a 57.05m effort to crash out in the qualification round after finishing 11th in Group A and 19th overall.
The 21-year-old Aldrin, who entered the showpiece as season leader with his 8.42m national record effort in March, cleared 8.0m in his first attempt and fouled his next two jumps. But that was sufficient for him to make it to the 12-man final to be held on Thursday.
Those who cleared automatic qualification distance of 8.15m or top 12 from the two qualification groups made it to the finals.
Aldrin, who finished sixth in Group B qualification round, was the 12th best performer overall and made it to the finals as the last qualifier. On Wednesday, he became the second Indian male long jumper to qualify for the finals in the showpiece after Sreeshankar, who had finished seventh in the 2022 World Championships in USA.
The 24-year-old Sreeshankar had a disappointing series of 7.74m, 7.66m and 6.70m as he finished 12th in Group A qualification round and 22nd overall.
His exit in the qualification round was another shocker for the Indian camp reeling under 3000m steeplechaser Avinash Sable’s failure to make it to the finals. He was expected to at least reach the finals. Sreeshankar has been more consistent than Aldrin this season, having crossed the 8m mark on many occasions.
