NewsIndia

By Ishaan Kapoor — 30 July 2026 — 3 min read

Sreeshankar’s Silver Medal Performance

Murali Sreeshankar, the Indian long jumper, secured his second consecutive silver medal at the Commonwealth Games 2026. His best effort in the men’s long jump final was 8.09m. This achievement marks him as the first Indian to win back-to-back medals in the long jump event at the Commonwealth Games. Sreeshankar had previously earned a silver medal at the 2022 Games.

Sreeshankar’s initial jump of 8.03m placed him third, behind Stephen McKenzie of Scotland and Tajay Gayle of Jamaica, both of whom jumped 8.08m. He briefly took the lead with his 8.09m jump, but Gayle responded with a winning jump of 8.15m to claim the gold medal. McKenzie secured the bronze with 8.08m. Another Indian athlete, Lokesh Sathyanathan, finished fifth with a best jump of 7.97m.

This medal is particularly significant for the 27-year-old Sreeshankar, as it follows a recovery from a career-threatening ruptured patellar tendon injury in April 2024. The injury required surgery and caused him to miss a potential Olympic appearance. Despite this setback, Sreeshankar has consistently jumped over 8m this year, including a season’s best of 8.38m at the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships.

Historic Wins in Para Athletics and Boxing Success

India made history in para athletics with a one-two finish in the men’s 100m T47 event for athletes with upper-limb impairments. Dilip Mahadu Gavit won the gold medal, setting a Games record time of 10.71 seconds. Mohammed Basil Morssinganakathi secured the silver medal with a season-best time of 10.83 seconds.

These victories contributed to India’s overall medal tally, which reached 15 medals, comprising three gold, nine silver, and three bronze, placing the country eighth in the standings. India’s other gold medals at the Games were won by Mirabai Chanu in women’s 48kg weightlifting and Sharmila Dhankar in the women’s shot put F57 event.

Indian boxers also had a successful day, with six additional athletes advancing to the semifinals. This brought the total number of guaranteed boxing medals for India to 10. The boxers who reached the semifinals include Sakshi Chaudhary (51kg), Arundhati Choudhary (70kg), Sachin Siwach (60kg), Ankush Panghal (80kg), Narender Berwal (+90kg), and world champion Jaismine Lamboria (57kg). They joined Lovlina Borgohain (75kg), Priya Ghanghas (60kg), Preeti Pawar (54kg), and Jadumani Singh (55kg), who had previously secured their semifinal spots. The boxing team’s performance has already surpassed India’s medal haul from the 2022 Commonwealth Games, where they won seven medals.

Mixed Results in Other Events

In track events, Yashas Palaksha and Santhosh K Tamilarasan qualified for the men’s 400m hurdles final. Santhosh finished third in Heat 2 with a time of 49.51 seconds, while Yashas placed third in Heat 1 in 49.65 seconds, both advancing as the two fastest non-automatic qualifiers.

However, there were some disappointments in other field events. Manpreet Singh narrowly missed a medal, finishing fourth in the women’s shot put final with a best throw of 17.49m. In weightlifting, Sanjana did not finish the women’s 77kg event. Indian swimmers Sajan Prakash and Aneesh S Gowda also missed out on qualifying for the men’s 200m freestyle final, finishing 20th and 18th overall, respectively.

Despite these mixed results, Tajinderpal Singh Toor and Samardeep Singh Gill qualified for the men’s shot put final. Toor achieved automatic qualification with a throw of 20.14m, while Gill’s best throw of 19.95m was sufficient to qualify among the top 12 performers. Additionally, national record holder Animesh Kujur qualified for the men’s 200m semifinals, winning Heat 4 in 20.46 seconds.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com