NEW DELHI: India’s Murali Sreeshankar secured a silver medal in the men’s long jump at the Asian Games 2026 on Monday, producing a best effort of 8.07m despite an injury that forced him to pull out of his final two attempts.Sreeshankar was in second place when he sustained the injury on his fourth attempt. Unable to continue, the Indian long jumper had to watch from the sidelines as his rivals completed their remaining jumps, hoping none of them could better his 8.07m mark.Fortunately for Sreeshankar, none of the challengers managed to surpass his distance, allowing him to hold on to the silver medal in an emotional finish.China’s Yuhao Shi won gold with a best effort of 8.17m, while Uzbekistan’s Anvar Anvarov took bronze with 8.06m. India’s other finalist, Solomon David, finished seventh with a best jump of 7.70m.Asian Games Full Coverage | Medal Tally | Schedule
Sreeshankar holds on despite injury
The silver was particularly significant given the circumstances of Sreeshankar’s competition. After establishing himself in the medal positions, the Indian was unable to complete the final two rounds because of his injury.With his competition over, there was little he could do but wait and watch as the remaining athletes attempted to overtake his 8.07m effort.None could, ensuring Sreeshankar remained second and India added another athletics medal to its tally.
Parul Chaudhary adds another bronze
Earlier, Parul Chaudhary added another medal to India’s athletics tally by winning bronze in the women’s 5000m final with a time of 15:14.61.Bahrain’s Winfred Yavi won gold in 15:10.18, while Japan’s Nozomi Tanaka claimed silver with 15:11.65.It was Parul’s second bronze medal at the ongoing Games after she had earlier finished third in the women’s 3000m steeplechase. She had produced a national-record 9:08.67 in that race, becoming the first Indian woman to break the 9:10 barrier.Parul’s latest medal also added to her Asian Games record. At Hangzhou in 2022, she won gold in the 5000m and silver in the steeplechase. She has now collected two bronze medals in Japan.In the steeplechase, Bahrain’s Yavi had won gold in a Games-record 9:04.36, while Kazakhstan’s Norah Tanui took silver in 9:06.82. India’s Ankita finished fourth in 9:19.24.
