Long jump national record holder Jeswin Aldrin withdraws from Diamond League
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Current world leader Jeswin Aldrin has withdrawn from the prestigious Diamond League in Lausanne, Switzerland, on June 30 because he "is not fully fit" for the occasion. Aldrin and fellow Indian Murali Sreeshankar, who won a bronze in the Paris leg, were scheduled to participate in Lausanne.
”Aldrin is out of Lausanne Diamond League as he is not 100 per cent fit. He wants to spend more time to achieve full fitness,” a source with knowledge of the situation told PTI on Thursday. The Asian Games qualifying mark of 7.95m was surpassed by the 21-year-old Aldrin when he competed in the National Inter-State Championships, which ended on Monday in Bhubaneswar. He finished second behind Sreeshankar with a leap of 7.98m.
Before earning gold with an 8.29m performance in the final, Sreeshankar had leaped an incredible 8.41m during the qualifying round.
Aldrin, who earlier in the season suffered from COVID-19, said that he was competing in the National Inter-State to "save" his spot in the Asian Games (September 23 to October 8).
All athletes must compete at the National Inter-State Championships in order to be considered for the Asian Games, with the exception of Neeraj Chopra and Avinash Sable, according to the Athletics Federation of India.
”I wanted to give a decent jump, at least around 8.10m. But there was more pain on the groin, so I just planned to stop.” Aldrin was chosen to the 54-person Indian squad for the Asian Championships, which will take place in Bangkok from July 12 to July 16, although he may possibly be questionable for the continental competition.
After setting a new national record of 8.42 metres in March in a local competition in Bellary, Aldrin is now leading the world rankings compiled by World Athletics. Sreeshankar is ranked second with an effort of 8.41 metres.
”I was in not in great shape in this competition. I just wanted to save my place for the Asian Games, that was the plan and I did that,” he had said after the National Inter-State Championships.