New Delhi: Two years is a long time in elite sport, and nothing exemplifies it better than the dwindling fortunes of India’s men’s long jump. When Jeswin Aldrin leapt 8.42 metres in March 2023 at the AFI National Jumps Competition in Vijayanagar, not only did he break the then national record but also presented India with a rare, tantalising prospect of two elite jumpers pushing each other to meet world standards. Too bad it ended up being a bit of a false dawn.
Aldrin’s duel with Murali Sreeshankar was great while it lasted. The Kerala jumper held the previous national mark of 8.36m — achieved at the 2022 Federation Cup in Kozhikode — even though Aldrin, who hails from neighbouring Tamil Nadu, had logged 8.37m at the same event. However, since Aldrin’s jump was wind-aided, the national mark went to Sreeshankar.
A year later in Vijaynagar, Aldrin, besides breaking the record in style, produced three 8m-plus jumps in the final. Back then, he had expressed confidence in touching the 8.50m mark in a few years. Three months later, Sreeshankar came close to Aldrin’s record with a personal best of 8.41m in Bhubaneshwar before taking a silver medal at Hangzhou Asian Games (8.19m). Then came the prolonged drought and a bunch of misfortunes.
Aldrin and Sreeshankar, for varying reasons, have been pushed to the sidelines and the excitement that the long jump pit generated not too long ago is fast diminishing. At the recently-concluded National Federation Athletics Championship in Kochi, Tamil Nadu’s David P walked away with the top honours with a leap of 7.94m while Aldrin finished second with 7.83m. In the handful of domestic competitions this season where long jump was part of the programme, the 8m mark has remained untouched.
Aldrin is hopeful of a resurgence. The 23-year-old pulled his right hamstring at the Indian Open meet in Chennai and finished seventh with a jump of 7.36m. “I am not too disappointed with my performance. I competed in pain in Chennai and came to Kochi after barely getting any practice. I am confident of touching the 8m mark as the season progresses,” he said.
Aldrin spent three months from January in Florida under the tutelage of Reliance Foundation’s Athletics Director James Hillier and the duo has worked to add speed to his approach. “It’s a gradual process but we are confident that Jeswin will consistently do 8.40-8.50m in 2-3 years. We are trying to get him to think like a champion and believe in his abilities. The psychological impact of the left knee injury he sustained at the World Championships was quite significant,” Hillier said, referring to his slip at the board in Budapest two years back.
“I agree he tailed off a little after that injury but he has the makings of becoming a consistent 8m jumper. It’s unfortunate that both Sree and Jeswin tapered off at the same time, but this Olympic cycle has just started and we will soon have them at their best,” said World Championships medallist Anju Bobby George.
Be that as it may, Aldrin failed to meet the cut for this year’s Asian Championships and has now trained his sights for the World University Games in July.
Sreeshankar, meanwhile, is still recovering from his knee surgery that cost him a spot at the Paris Olympics. He went under the knife last April and is known to have restarted his training but there’s not much clarity on his return to competitions.
“We need to be patient with these guys,” added Anju. “Long jump is a technical sport and players are prone to injuries, but I do feel the pressure of expectations on Jeswin after his national record was a little too much.”
Hillier agreed. “He was not managed or nurtured well enough. Everything was so new to him and he crumbled. The other issue was he would rarely complete six legal jumps, so we are addressing that as well.”
Aldrin, Hillier believes, also suffered from wrong peaking. It doesn’t take much to note that his performances at major international meets were at best forgettable even though Aldrin kept jumping well at home.
“I think he had the right performances at the wrong time, which again comes down to management. Some of his domestic performances, be it the rhythm, confidence, or results, would have got him some international medals,” Hillier opined.
With two of India’s best male long jumpers still finding their way back, the onus is on the youngsters to step up. The bench, however, is largely barren. Uttar Pradesh’s upcoming 22-year-old Aditya Kumar Singh has shown potential — he was the lone Indian to touch 8m in 2024 and has started the year by winning the Indian Open in Chennai. Tamil Nadu’s David P, 23, should be looking to seize his opportunity too.
“There is lack of depth, for sure. And it is an Indian athletics problem more than a long jump problem. We need a pool of 5-6 seniors pushing each other and a strong bunch of juniors to keep them on their toes. That requires good coaching and infrastructure at grassroots,” Hillier said.
