Kozhikode: Tamil Nadu long jumper Jeswin Aldrin is not disappointed that his best effort of a wind-assisted 8.37m didn't make it to the record books as he aims to repeat his stellar performance during the World Championships later this year.
Indian athletics chief coach Radhakrishnan Nair had told PTI that Aldrin's second best effort of 8.26m on Sunday was legal and he has qualified for the World Championships in USA in July by breaching the entry standard of 8.22m.
"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," Aldrin said.
Read: Boxing: Monika stuns two-time World Championships medallist, storms into semis at Thailand Open
Aldrin cleared 8.37m in his second attempt but the tail wind speed measured on the wind gauge was + 4.1m/s, well above the legal limit of + 2m/s. He cannot be denied a gold but he was denied the national record.
Tokyo Olympian Murali Sreeshankar of Kerala, who had won silver with a jump of 8.36m, praised Aldrin for his world-class performance.
"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 Indian long jump and hopefully, we'll have some good performances in the upcoming major events," Sreeshankar said.
Sreeshankar and Aldrin, who trains at the Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS) at Vijayanagar in Karnataka, now lead the season's chart in the world with their 8.36m and 8.26m efforts respectively.
IIS Athletics Head Coach Yoandri Betanzos said that Aldrin showed a lot of grit during competition.
"One of Jeswin's strongest traits is that apart from being a very talented athlete, has a very strong mind and is able to catch minor adjustments in technique very well. Our first goal was to clear 8m regularly, which is now achieved.
Read: Ministry to spend Rs 190 crore on training of athletes for CWG and Asiad
"We will now put more emphasis on some of his technical details and focus on our next targets, which are to put in strong performances at the World Championships, Commonwealth and Asian Games."
Aldrin, who was scouted into the IIS athletics program in 2018 as a talented 16-year-old with a personal best of 7.51m, has trained under French head coach Antony Yaich for three years. He was sent for training and exposure camps to France and South Africa in the last few years.
Since January, he has been working with Cuban Betanzos, who is a five-time World Championship medal-winning triple jumper.
