From Crutches To Commonwealth Games Silver: Sreeshankar's Remarkable Second Act

Two years ago, Murali Sreeshankar was told by the surgeons attending to him after his career-threatening injury that he might never run again, leave alone competing in a long jump event.

His father S Murali was "scared" as his son suffered a left patellar tendon rupture in a freak incident during a routine training session in Palakkad in April 2024.

Forget medals. Forget 8m jumps. Forget the 2024 Paris Olympics. The father and coach of India's premier long jumper only wanted his son to walk again without crutches.

"I just wanted him to get off the crutches and walk like a normal person," Murali told PTI, recalling the difficult days after his son's devastating knee injury.

On Wednesday, those memories felt a world away as Sreeshankar stood on the Commonwealth Games podium with his second successive silver medal.

Four years after finishing runner-up in Birmingham, the 27-year-old produced an 8.09m jump to win his first international medal after a comeback few thought was possible.

"It is a miracle that he is back and not only competing but winning medals. No one else would have been able to do that after such an injury," Murali said.

Surgery followed the injury, along with months of rehabilitation that ruled him out of the entire 2024 season, including what would have been his Olympic debut in Paris.

For more than 650 days, he did not compete.

Recovery itself was a series of small victories.

"He started jumping little by little. He jumped three metres after one year, in April 2025," Murali said.

"I couldn't watch him. I was so scared."

Every landing reminded them how fragile the comeback was. Every training session came with uncertainty.

But Murali never doubted his son's resolve.

"He is mentally very strong. Like Shiva, he focused only on his comeback." Sreeshankar, though, prefers to look at it differently.

"I won't say it was a miracle. But yes, I am grateful to be back representing my country."

He dedicated the medal to everyone who stood by him through the toughest phase of his career.

"This medal is for everyone who supported me during my tough time over the past two years. And everyone who said I would never jump again in my career... this is for you."

What has impressed as much as the comeback itself is the consistency.

Sreeshankar has crossed the 8m mark in every competition this season. In Glasgow, 8.09m earned him silver behind the three-time world championships medallist Tajay Gayle of Jamaica.

He has been working with renowned South African strength and conditioning coach Wayne Lombard, who has worked with Indian hockey players in the past.

"I have Dr. Wayne Lombard also in my team. So he's a piper who changes things around for me. His inputs have been incredible and amazing too." He credits that consistency to understanding his body better than ever before.

"I started understanding my body a lot more compared to before," he said.

"Even now, I can't train full-fledged every single time. I have to carefully put the training volume up and manage the intensities accordingly."

His daily routine has changed completely.

"A lot of planning and a lot of strategies go into every single day. From the moment I wake up to the moment I sleep, every single thing has to be carefully planned and charted out."

"To jump with a surgically repaired tendon, it's not that easy," he said.

"I have three anchor screws on my tendon. And there's a wire that goes around my kneecap which is holding my tendon together. So I have to respect that and I have to train according to that."

The metal inside his knee is a permanent reminder of what he went through.

A Team Effort In Testing Conditions

If recovering from injury was one challenge, adapting to Glasgow's weather was another.

Persistent rain, gusty winds and low temperatures were a far cry from the hot and humid conditions the Indian athletes had experienced at the National Inter-State Championships in Bhubaneswar just weeks earlier.

Instead of figuring it out alone, the Indian athletes leaned on each other's experience.

"Sarvesh (Kushare) bhaiya, TJ (Tejaswin Shankar) and Tejas (Shirse) all of us were sitting at dinner discussing how we can cope with the conditions here," Sreeshankar said.

"In India, in Bhubaneswar last month, the conditions were hot and humid. It is totally opposite to what we have here."

"Sarvesh bhaiya asked me to carry a sleeping bag and a thermos. He gave me the sleeping bag and all the jackets."

He also sought advice from fellow jumper Tejaswin Shankar, especially after watching high jumper Pooja Singh struggle in the rain a day earlier.

"I was taking inputs from TJ about the tricky conditions. Yesterday it was really rainy and Pooja had to struggle a lot."