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Commonwealth Games 2022 silver medallist Sreeshankar Murali has opened up on why he stopped eating Kerala Porotta. For the unversed, it is a flatbread made of maida. The 23-year-old represented India in the long jump event in the recently concluded games. Around three years back, he decided not to eat the specific meal. He recalled a story in which his father 'taunted' him about how other athletes are doing well. In response, Murali vowed that he won't eat it till the Tokyo Olympics.
“I don’t know how that story popped up. But one day, I remember in 2019, I was having Porotta. All Malayalis know how big the Porotta is for us. My dad saw me and said, ‘you keep eating this and other athletes are jumping 8.15 metres and over’. So I told my dad I will not have it until the (Tokyo) Olympics. So immediately I called my parents and said I won’t have it until I win a medal. I didn’t have it after CWG. The treat is saved for the Olympics.
However, in the interview, he revealed that the hasn't consumed Porotta even after winning the silver medal.
Watch the video here
Why #CWG22 silver medal-winning long jumper won't have parotta ( maida-based flat bread) until he wins an Olympic medal. @TejaswinShankar
@IExpressSports pic.twitter.com/aZcNuGBZ0l— Andrew (@AndrewAmsan) August 15, 2022
It was a mentally and physically tough time: Sreeshankar Murali
The long-jump player also opened up about the tough time he had during the last year's Olympics. He also spoke about the time when his coach and father Sivasankaran Murali was publicly sacked by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI).
“ Of course (it was a tough time), not just physically but mentally. And not just for me, but for my family. I was confident in Tokyo, after qualifying with a decent jump. I didn’t have much expectation of making the podium, but I was confident to make the finals or the top eight. I had issues with Covid-19 and had to take successive vaccinations. That resulted in really bad fitness; I was never able to train fully in those three months. Everything was going south and I was never 100 per cent in my training for the Olympics,” he said to The Indian Express.