India, Aug. 10 -- Murali Sreeshankar calls Kalinga Stadium his lucky ground. It was here that he recorded his first 8m jump (8.20m in 2018) as well as his personal best (8.41m in 2023). Returning to his happy hunting ground after recovering from a career threatening left knee - the surgery has left a long scar - he needed every bit of fortune to win his fourth straight competition in five weeks.

Egged on by a passionate crowd, Sreeshankar leapt 8.13m in his sixth and last attempt to steal the thunder from young Shahnavaz Khan, who looked set for a win with his first 8m-plus jump, an 8.04m effort.

"I believe this is Bhubaneswar magic. Whenever I come here, I just do good," the 26-year-old said. Sreeshankar looked in decent rhythm, two fo...