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Murali Sreeshankar created history on Saturday by becoming the first Indian to qualify for the men’s Long Jump event at the World Athletics championship.

He jumped 8 meters to finish second in his group and seventh overall. Though he failed to cross the automatic qualification mark of 8.15 meters, he nevertheless made it to the final as one of the top 12 finishers in the qualifying round.

Anju Bobby George is the only Indian to have qualified for the final of the Long Jump event. She won a Bronze at the event in the 2003 Paris games.

In the 3000 meters Steeplechase, Avinash Sable reached his second consecutive final clocking 8:18:75 in the heats.

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Sable in 2018 broke the 37-year-old national record of Gopal Saini at the National Open Championship. In 2019 he became the first Indian male steeplechaser after Deena Ram in 1991 to qualify for the World Athletics Championship.