Published: April 5, 2026 at 2:46 pm
Murali Sreeshankar began the season with a bang. The Indian won the men’s long jump event at the first Indian Athletics Series 2026 at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday.
The 27-year-old Indian athlete produced his best mark on his fourth attempt and was the only competitor to breach both the 8.00m barrier and the Asian Games qualifying standard of 7.91m. Sreeshankar was consistent through the evening, clearing the Asian Games qualifying mark during all six attempts. His scoresheet read 8.03m, 7.99m, 8.13m, 8.15m, 8.12m and 8.10m.
It was an impressive outing, considering the Bengaluru meet was Sreeshankar’s first piece of competitive action since the World Championships in September last year Sreeshankar’s winning effort also bettered his 2025 season-best of 8.13m. His personal best stands at 8.41m, while the national record of 8.42m is held by Jeswin Aldrin.
However, breaching the AFI mark does not guarantee a place in India’s Asian Games contingent. Under the AFI selection process, athletes must compete in a minimum of three domestic competitions – including mandatory participation at state championships.
In the men’s triple jump, former Asian champion Abdulla Aboobacker clinched top honours with a 16.82m leap. National record holder Praveen Chithravel was not part of the field.
Paris 2024 Olympian Sarvesh Kushare won the men’s high jump title with a clearance of 2.23m.
The Bengaluru meet was the first of the 16 Indian Athletics Series introduced by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) this year. The one-day event featured a full slate of track and field finals.
Baranica Elangovan impressed in the women’s pole vault, while Ancy Sojan edged Shaili Singh by just two centimetres to win the women’s long jump event.
Bibin Antony claimed the men’s javelin throw crown with a best effort of 77.53m.
The next installment of the Indian Athletics Series will be held in Udaipur on Sunday followed by the Sangrur and Ranchi editions next weekend.
Results: Men’s 5000m: 1. Harmanjot Singh (14:21.07); 2. Rahul Baloda (14:30.37); 3. Shailabh (14:34.05).
800m: 1. Anu Kumar (1:48.21); 2. Krishan Kumar (1:48.48); 3. Satyajeet Suresh Puja (1:48.68).
Pole vault: 1. Reegan G (5.35m); 2. Ramratan (5.20m); 3. Kamal Loganathan (5.10m).
Triple jump: 1. Abdulla Aboobacker (16.82m); 2. Mohammed Muhassin (16.16m); 3. Gailey Venister (16.08m).
High jump: 1. Sarvesh Anil Kushare (2.23m); 2. Aadarsh Ram (2.23m); 3. Jesse Sandesh (2.10m).
200m: 1. Jishnu Prasad P K (20.76s); 2. Vishal TK (20.80s); 3. Tamil Arasu S (20.83s).
110m hurdles: 1. Krishik M (13.87s); 2. Muhammed Lazan VK (14.14s); 3. Manav R (13.97s).
Discus throw: 1. Bhartpreet Singh (55.86m); 2. Dharamraj Yadav (54.88m); 3. Mohammed Saqlain (53.96m).
400m hurdles: 1. Arjun Pradeep (51.04s); 2. Jabir Madari Palliyali (51.36s); 3. Natarajan Kalainithi (51.45s).
Shot put: 1. Samardeep Singh Gill (19.74m); 2. S Kumaran (17.10m); 3. S Ebenezer (15.55m).
100m: 1. Tamil Arasu (10.23s); 2. Shandosh P (10.45s); 3. Ragul Kumar G (10.49s).
Long jump: 1. Murali Sreeshankar (8.15m), 2. Sunny Kumar (7.90m); 3. Purushotham (7.87m).
Javelin throw: 1. Bibin Antony (77.53m); 2. Anand Singh (75.69m); 3. Vikrant Malik (73.59m).
Women’s 5000m: 1. Prachi Devkar (17:14.12); 2. Sanghamitra Mahata (17:16.63); 3. Sunita Devi (17:20.04).
Discus throw: 1. Bhavana Yadav (52.51m); 2. Akhila Raju (49.19m); 3. Neetu Kumari (46.50m).
Triple jump: 1. Babisha P (12.80m); 2. Bhumika K N (12.74m); 3. Rishika Awasthi (12.65m).
800m: 1. Kavitha V (2:07.57); 2. Ankita (2:07.87); 3. Priscilla Daniel (2:08.21).
Javelin throw: 1. Karishma S Sanil (50.24m); 2. Shivani Patel (43.46m); 3. Kanishka Tonger (42.74m).
200m: 1. Rashdeep Kaur (24.09s); 2. Parthipa Selvaraj (24.18s); 3. Prachi (24.32s).
100m hurdles: 1. Anjali C (13.44s); 2. Nandhini K (13.55s); 3. Pranjali Dilip Patil (13.58s).
Pole vault: 1. Baranica Elangovan (4.10m); 2. Blessy Kunjumon (3.95m); 3. Mariya Jaison (3.90m).
Long jump: 1. Ancy Sojan E (6.54m); 2. Shaili Singh (6.52m); 3. Moumita Mondal (6.37m).
High jump: 1. Pallavi Patil (1.76m); 2. Supriya S B; 3. Athira Somaraj (1.70m).
100m: 1. Giridharani Ravikumar (11.53s); 2. Kiruthika (11.89s); 3. V Sudheeksha (11.91s).
