At the Indian Athletics Series 2026, Murali Sreeshankar began his season with victory in the men’s long jump, registering a best effort of 8.15m. Competing at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium, in Bengaluru, the 27-year-old produced his best jump on the fourth attempt and emerged as the only athlete in the field to cross 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 leap of 16.82m. National record holder Praveen Chithravel did not compete 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 standout performances, Baranica Elangovan impressed in the women’s pole vault, while Ancy Sojan narrowly defeated Shaili Singh by just two centimetres 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 meet in Udaipur tomorrow before moving to Sangrur and Ranchi for the following rounds next weekend.