At the 2026 Indian Athletics Series, Murali Sreeshankar kicked off his season with a victory in the men's long jump, achieving a best distance of 8.15m. Competing at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru, the 27-year-old athlete achieved his best jump on the fourth attempt and became the only competitor to surpass both the 8.00m mark and the Asian Games qualifying standard of 7.91m.
In the men's triple jump, former Asian champion Abdulla Aboobacker secured first place with a jump of 16.82m. National record holder Praveen Chithravel did not participate in the event. Meanwhile, Sarvesh Kushare, who represented India at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, won the men's high jump with a clearance of 2.23m.
Among the other notable performances, Baranica Elangovan impressed in the women's pole vault, while Ancy Sojan narrowly defeated Shaili Singh by just two centimeters to claim the women's long jump title. In the men's javelin throw, Bibin Antony emerged victorious with a best throw of 77.53m.
The series will continue with its next event in Udaipur tomorrow, before moving to Sangrur and Ranchi for the subsequent rounds next weekend.
