It was great to have competition with Jeswin Aldrin in Fed Cup, says Murali Sreeshankar

Calicut, April 4 (IANS) Murali Sreeshankar from Kerala and Jeswin Aldrin from Tamil Nadu carried out a fascinating contest on Day 2 of the Federation Cup athletics meet in Kozhikode, Kerala on Sunday. Aldrin clinched the gold medal in the meet with a jump of 8.37m.

Sreeshankar spoke about his duel with Aldrin in the Federation Cup, "It was a world-class performance by Jeswin and it's great to have us push each other. (Muhammed) Anees also jumped 8m plus, so this is a great sign for the Indian long jump and hopefully, we'll have some good performances in the upcoming major events."

Aldrin and Sreeshankar also qualified for the World Championship to be held in Orgeon, USA later this year, as they recorded jumps over the qualification mark of 8.22m. Aldrin's second-best jump of 8.26m, which wasn't a wind-aided jump, was counted for his qualification. The two jumps (Sreeshankar -- 8.36m and Aldrin -- 8.26m) are now the top two marks in the world so far (outdoors).

Sreeshankar, on the other hand, finished second in the competition with a jump of 8.36m and in the process, broke his previous national record of 8.26m. The tournament witnessed another record with three Indians recording jumps over 8m for the first time.

Speaking about his performance, Aldrin said, "This is a new standard of long jump in India, and the competition will definitely help the sport. I am happy that I have managed to qualify for the World Championship with my performance and I am hoping that I can repeat my performances on the world stage as well."