India's Jeswin Aldrin on Friday ended his men's long jump event in a disappointment as the national record holder finished 11th in the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary. Aldrin was the lone Indian to reach the event's final after he recorded a jump of 8.0m in the qualification. However, he was far from his best in the final as he reigistered a 7.77m jump.
Aldrin did not start the final well. He recorded two fouls in his first two attempts, followed by a 7.77m jump in his third attempt. However, this was not enough for him as he could not enter the top 8 of the finale. Only the top 8 get a chance to compete after three jumps, while others get knocked out.
Aldrin came into the championships as the world season leader with a jump of 8.42m in March. Meanwhile, the Gold medal went to the Greek jumper Miltiadis Tentoglou in a thrilling final round. Tentoglou completed his collection of Gold medals as he recorded the best jump of the night, registering an 8.52m jump. Jamaica’s Wayne Pinnock settled for Silver with a jump of 8.50m, while Tajay Gayle took the Bronze with a 8.27m jump on countback.
Aldrin became only the second Indian after M Sreeshankar to qualify for men's long jump finals at the Worlds. However, his opening fouls put him under pressure. He overstepped on his first jump and slipped at his take-off. "I was really shocked when I slipped. I was in good shape but I didn’t hit the board properly. I just slipped forward. I was just grateful that nothing major happened. I avoided injury but I completely lost my rhythm," Aldrin said after the final. Notably, M Sreeshankar suffered a bigger disappointment as he could not reach the final 12 in the long jump. He endured a shocking exit as the Indian star recorded a best jump of 7.74m in the qualifying event.
