The clock is set to hit 12:00 AM in a few hours with 2022 becoming another chapter in history.&nbsp;The&nbsp;year once again brought to fore&nbsp;India's rich&nbsp;talent in the sporting fraternity with many glittering performances. During 2022, many rising stars made a prominent mark and became household names after success in big-ticket tournaments such as the Commonwealth Games 2022, T20 World Cup, Women's ODI World Cup, Thomas Cup, etc.

In the CWG'22, India ended with as many as 61 medals -- fourth-most overall -- with the likes of Mirabai Chanu, PV Sindhu, Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik, Nikhat Zareen, Sharath Kamal, Vinesh Phogat,&nbsp;Amit Panghal, Indian women's and men's hockey team, Indian women's cricket team, Murali Sreeshankar, etc. gaining prominence. Talking about long jumper Sreeshankar, the 23-year-old won&nbsp;silver&nbsp;with a jump of 8.08 metres. He, thus,&nbsp;became the first male long jumper from India to secure a silver medal at the Games.

Needless to say, Sreeshankar -- hailing from a family with a rich history of sporting achievements&nbsp;-- saw his stocks being on the rise. Recently, he opened up on his overall run in 2022, struggles en route to becoming an overnight star after CWG'22, idol Usain Bolt and more during an exclusive interaction with WION's Aditya Sahay. Excerpts:

Sreeshankar hails Usain Bolt

<blockquote>
"After growing up and watching Usain Bolt, I was really inspired. I was a big fan of him since 2007. I used to have his posters in my room. I was always inspired to be a sprinter like him. Fate had different plans for me (laughs) but I love and admire his consistency.&nbsp;I am really inspired by him."
</blockquote>

How has 2022 been for you?

It was pretty good. There was&nbsp;a fair share of ups and downs. I was consistently clocking over 8 metres in most of the competitions. A&nbsp;CWG medal and two World Championship&nbsp;finals were the icing on the cake. Hence, 2022 was very kind to me.

You were the only Indian male to reach the final of the Worlds. Although you ended seventh, what were the learnings and how did it set you up for CWG success?

I had a really good chance for a medal (at World Athletics 2022). In the finals, I made some small mistakes and paid the price. Still, I ended seventh and I believe everything is a stepping stone or a humble beginning for the major competitions to come. It made me realise that you can't go out and win the medal every single time so it was a big learning curve&nbsp;to be able to compete with the big guys. It was great&nbsp;overall.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/football-king-pele-no-more-list-of-records-held-by-the-brazilian-legend-547954">Football 'King' Pele no more: List of records held by the Brazilian legend</a>

You pointed out a very good thing. One definitely can't win every competition. It is a mature stance. Did you learn this after the setback in the Worlds?

No&nbsp;sir. Not exactly. I have been knowing the journey of many top athletes for quite some time. For example, I have been watching the current Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglou (who secured his country Greece's first medal in the men's long jump in Tokyo 2020). He is a good friend of mine. I have been talking to him, trying to pick his brain and am monitoring his progress. He was ninth in one World C'ship, then seventh and then entered&nbsp;the final. Then,&nbsp;slowly and steadily he built from it. In 2022,&nbsp;he was the world indoor championship and in the world outdoor, he won silver.&nbsp;Hence, it&nbsp;is gradual progress. Every athlete goes from one stage to another. For some athletes, it has been a sudden big jump. But for most, it is&nbsp;step-by-step progress. What is most important is that every athlete needs to trust&nbsp;his, or her, process. Rest, everything will be taken care of.

It was a dramatic affair at CWG'22. How did you adjust to the conditions and what were the&nbsp;specific challenges faced?

Since I have been competing in a few international competitions, I don't have so much struggle in adjusting to the weather. In CWG'22, I still had a tough time. I was in much better shape in the qualifiers. In the final, I lost my rhythm and had to overcome a mindset issue. I don't want to stress about 8.20-8.30 metres jump. I rather aim for 8-8.10 metre jump and win gold. So I was focussed on that. I got the silver medal with 8.08m so I am happy (smiles).&nbsp;

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Congrats Murali sreeshankar !He Won the first ever silver medal🥈 for India in the long jump at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CWG2022?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CWG2022</a> <a href="https://t.co/zEcN42Fz56">pic.twitter.com/zEcN42Fz56</a>
— karthik gopinath (@karthikgnath) <a href="https://twitter.com/karthikgnath/status/1555421309424742400?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 5, 2022</a></blockquote>
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<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

You hold the national record of 8.36m but managed a best of 7.93m in this year's National Games to lose gold to Jeswin Aldrin. What happened at the Games with the hamstring issue?

During the National Games, I was in really good condition. I was hoping for a big jump. Unfortunately, I pulled my hamstring so wasn't able to continue. I was hoping for a National record jump. But due to dehydration and some problems from the previous days, my body hadn't recovered so I couldn't continue from thereon and win big.

It is strange. On certain days, everything will click and you will surprise yourself. But on most, it is about managing that chaos at that time and trying to overcome it to return with a medal.&nbsp;

Sreeshankar on the journey of an athlete

<blockquote>
"Every athlete goes from one stage to another. For some athletes, it has been a sudden big jump. But for most of them, it is a step-by-step process. What is most important is that every athlete needs to trust&nbsp;his, or her, process."
</blockquote>

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/fifa-world-cup-qatar-2022-may-have-lost-many-battles-but-won-the-war-544566">FIFA World Cup: Qatar 2022 may have lost many battles but won the war</a>

How did you take up this as a profession? Anyone you look up to as an idol?&nbsp;

I come from a sporting family. Getting into sports was a natural thing for me. My parents were international athletes (his father S. Murali&nbsp;is a former triple jump athlete and silver medalist at the South Asian Games. Meanwhile, Sreeshankar's mother K. S. Bijimol secured silver&nbsp;in 800 metres at the 1992 Asian Junior Athletics Championships whereas&nbsp;his sister Sreeparvathy is a heptathlete) and most of my family members come from sports in some way or the other. Everything around me has been about sports only. After growing up and watching Usain Bolt, I was really inspired. I have been a big fan of his since 2007. I used to have his posters in my room. I was always inspired to be a sprinter like him. Fate had different plans for me (laughs) but I still love and admire his consistency.&nbsp;The kind of athlete is he, he is unbelievable. I&nbsp;am really inspired by him.

Your father's role in shaping your career? What are the small goals in-line for Paris 2024?

We do have big goals. He is coaching me and we are working very hard to remain in good shape to achieve some really big goals. Big realistic goals. Work is going in the right direction so I really hope everything will be much better and fall into place when Paris 2024 arrives.

The clock is set to hit 12:00 AM in a few hours with 2022 becoming another chapter in history. The year once again brought to fore India's rich talent in the sporting fraternity with many glittering performances.

The clock is set to hit 12:00 AM in a few hours with 2022 becoming another chapter in history. The year once again brought to fore India's rich talent in the sporting fraternity with many glittering performances. During 2022, many rising stars made a prominent mark and became household names after success in big-ticket tournaments such as the Commonwealth Games 2022, T20 World Cup, Women's ODI World Cup, Thomas Cup, etc. In the CWG'22, India ended with as many as 61 medals -- fourth-most overall -- with the likes of Mirabai Chanu, PV Sindhu, Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik, Nikhat Zareen, Sharath Kamal, Vinesh Phogat, Amit Panghal, Indian women's and men's hockey team, Indian women's cricket team, Murali Sreeshankar, etc. gaining prominence. Talking about long jumper Sreeshankar, the 23-year-old won silver with a jump of 8.08 metres. He, thus, became the first male long jumper from India to secure a silver medal at the Games. Needless to say, Sreeshankar -- hailing from a family with a rich history of sporting achievements -- saw his stocks being on the rise. Recently, he opened up on his overall run in 2022, struggles en route to becoming an overnight star after CWG'22, idol Usain Bolt and more during an exclusive interaction with WION's Aditya Sahay. Excerpts: Sreeshankar hails Usain Bolt "After growing up and watching Usain Bolt, I was really inspired. I was a big fan of him since 2007. I used to have his posters in my room. I was always inspired to be a sprinter like him. Fate had different plans for me (laughs) but I love and admire his consistency. I am really inspired by him." How has 2022 been for you? It was pretty good. There was a fair share of ups and downs. I was consistently clocking over 8 metres in most of the competitions. A CWG medal and two World Championship finals were the icing on the cake. Hence, 2022 was very kind to me. You were the only Indian male to reach the final of the Worlds. Although you ended seventh, what were the learnings and how did it set you up for CWG success? I had a really good chance for a medal (at World Athletics 2022). In the finals, I made some small mistakes and paid the price. Still, I ended seventh and I believe everything is a stepping stone or a humble beginning for the major competitions to come. It made me realise that you can't go out and win the medal every single time so it was a big learning curve to be able to compete with the big guys. It was great overall. Also read: Football 'King' Pele no more: List of records held by the Brazilian legend You pointed out a very good thing. One definitely can't win every competition. It is a mature stance. Did you learn this after the setback in the Worlds? No sir. Not exactly. I have been knowing the journey of many top athletes for quite some time. For example, I have been watching the current Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglou (who secured his country Greece's first medal in the men's long jump in Tokyo 2020). He is a good friend of mine. I have been talking to him, trying to pick his brain and am monitoring his progress. He was ninth in one World C'ship, then seventh and then entered the final. Then, slowly and steadily he built from it. In 2022, he was the world indoor championship and in the world outdoor, he won silver. Hence, it is gradual progress. Every athlete goes from one stage to another. For some athletes, it has been a sudden big jump. But for most, it is step-by-step progress. What is most important is that every athlete needs to trust his, or her, process. Rest, everything will be taken care of. It was a dramatic affair at CWG'22. How did you adjust to the conditions and what were the specific challenges faced? Since I have been competing in a few international competitions, I don't have so much struggle in adjusting to the weather. In CWG'22, I still had a tough time. I was in much better shape in the qualifiers. In the final, I lost my rhythm and had to overcome a mindset issue. I don't want to stress about 8.20-8.30 metres jump. I rather aim for 8-8.10 metre jump and win gold. So I was focussed on that. I got the silver medal with 8.08m so I am happy (smiles). Congrats Murali sreeshankar !He Won the first ever silver medal🥈 for India in the long jump at #CWG2022 pic.twitter.com/zEcN42Fz56 — karthik gopinath (@karthikgnath) August 5, 2022 × You hold the national record of 8.36m but managed a best of 7.93m in this year's National Games to lose gold to Jeswin Aldrin. What happened at the Games with the hamstring issue? During the National Games, I was in really good condition. I was hoping for a big jump. Unfortunately, I pulled my hamstring so wasn't able to continue. I was hoping for a National record jump. But due to dehydration and some problems from the previous days, my body hadn't recovered so I couldn't continue from thereon and win big. It is strange. On certain days, everything will click and you will surprise yourself. But on most, it is about managing that chaos at that time and trying to overcome it to return with a medal. Sreeshankar on the journey of an athlete "Every athlete goes from one stage to another. For some athletes, it has been a sudden big jump. But for most of them, it is a step-by-step process. What is most important is that every athlete needs to trust his, or her, process." Also read: FIFA World Cup: Qatar 2022 may have lost many battles but won the war How did you take up this as a profession? Anyone you look up to as an idol? I come from a sporting family. Getting into sports was a natural thing for me. My parents were international athletes (his father S. Murali is a former triple jump athlete and silver medalist at the South Asian Games. Meanwhile, Sreeshankar's mother K. S. Bijimol secured silver in 800 metres at the 1992 Asian Junior Athletics Championships whereas his sister Sreeparvathy is a heptathlete) and most of my family members come from sports in some way or the other. Everything around me has been about sports only. After growing up and watching Usain Bolt, I was really inspired. I have been a big fan of his since 2007. I used to have his posters in my room. I was always inspired to be a sprinter like him. Fate had different plans for me (laughs) but I still love and admire his consistency. The kind of athlete is he, he is unbelievable. I am really inspired by him. Your father's role in shaping your career? What are the small goals in-line for Paris 2024? We do have big goals. He is coaching me and we are working very hard to remain in good shape to achieve some really big goals. Big realistic goals. Work is going in the right direction so I really hope everything will be much better and fall into place when Paris 2024 arrives.

Exclusive: I used to have Usain Bolt's posters in my room, says India's CWG'22 star Murali Sreeshankar

After a memorable run in Tokyo Olympics last year, the Indian contingent roared and inspired once again in the recently-concluded Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2022 edition in Birmingham. The entire Team India squad consisted of several medal contenders such as PV Sindhu, Manpreet Singh-led Indian men's hockey team, Harmanpreet Kaur-led Indian women's cricket team, Mirabai Chanu, Sharath Kamal, Bajrang Punia-starrer wrestling camp.

While many big names and strong medal contenders didn't disappoint, some relatively-unknown players and sporting stars made a mark as well. I bet not many would've googled lawn bowls before the women's team attained gold whereas the men's settled for silver. Thus, there were quite a few positives for India as the star-studded squad kept the national flag flying high throughout the tournament. Here's reliving top five team or individual performances at the Games:

ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/from-pv-sindhu-to-lakshya-sen-how-indian-shuttlers-roared-and-inspired-at-cwg-2022-505288">From PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen to mixed team's silver: How Indian shuttlers roared and inspired at CWG 2022</a>

1) Badminton squad's exceptional run: Badminton remained&nbsp;one of the&nbsp;strongest disciplines for India at the showpiece event in Birmingham. In the mixed team event, defending champions India lost to Malaysia 3-1 in the summit clash to settle for silver. However, there were many highs overall.

Chirag Shetty-Satwiksairaj Rankireddy won gold in men's doubles.&nbsp;Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand clinched bronze by beating the Australian pair of Hsuan-Yu Wendy Chen/Gronya Somerville&nbsp;in the women's doubles category. Kidambi Srikanth secured bronze in singles whereas 20-year-old Lakshya Sen claimed gold in the same category.

PV Sindhu, the superstar shuttler, won her maiden gold at the Games defeating&nbsp;Canada's Michelle Li 21-15, 21-13 to complete a CWG set (gold, silver and bronze).

2) Wrestlers' dominance:&nbsp;Among all sports, wrestling remained the most&nbsp;most successful for Team India at CWG 2022 with as many as 12 medals. For the unversed, all the dozen wrestlers had&nbsp;returned with medals in Gold Coast 2018 and they managed to replicate the same this time around as well.&nbsp;

The likes of Bajrang Punia, Deepak Punia, Ravi Dahiya, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik won a gold medal each whereas the likes of Pooja Sihag, Mohit Grewal, Naveen Sihag, Divya Kakran also returned as CWG 2022 medal winners.

3) Sharath Kamal - The veteran who won&nbsp;more gold medals than 56 countries at CWG'22: The 40-year-old Sharath Kamal ended with a rollicking campaign in CWG'22. The table tennis player clinched three gold medals and a silver medal for India at the recently-concluded&nbsp;2022 edition. Sharath won gold medals in the men's team, mixed doubles and men's singles events whereas he settled for silver&nbsp;in the men's doubles category in&nbsp;Birmingham 2022.

ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/pm-narendra-modi-interacts-with-commonwealth-games-medal-winners-at-his-residence-506434">PM Narendra Modi interacts with Commonwealth Games' medal winners at his residence</a>

4) The lawn bowls' team's success:&nbsp;Not many Indians would've be aware&nbsp;about this sport had it not been the hype generated by the men's and women's team courtesy of their performances in CWG'22. The&nbsp;women’s fours team -- comprising&nbsp;Lovely Choubey, Pinki, Nayanmoni Saikia, and Rupa Rani -- beat South Africa in the final to help India win its maiden gold and first-ever medal at the Games in lawn bowls.

The men's team having the likes of Sunil Bahadur, Navneet Singh, Chandan Kumar Singh&nbsp;and Dinesh Kumar&nbsp;clinched the silver medal after losing to Northern Ireland. Before this, the country had&nbsp;managed a best of fourth position —&nbsp;in the women's triples event in 2010 and the men's fours event in 2014.

ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/cwg-2022-indian-contingent-shine-end-campaign-at-fourth-slot-with-a-staggering-61-medals-504917">CWG 2022: Indian contingent shines, ends campaign at fourth slot with a staggering 61 medals</a>

5) Mirabai Chanu-starrer weightlifters:&nbsp;After her resounding success at Tokyo 2020, Mirabai continued to rise up the ladder and ended with gold in her 49kg category, with a total of 201 kg. Not only Mirabai, many weightlifters stunned with their performances at the big stage.&nbsp;Achinta Sheuli (gold), Jeremy Lalrinnunga (gold), Gurdeet Singh (bronze), Vikas Thakur (silver), Harjinder Kaur (bronze), etc. roared to make their presence felt.

India clinched 22 gold, 16&nbsp;silver and 23 bronze medals at the&nbsp;Games in the 2022 edition. Out of the total 61, India accounted for&nbsp;a staggering 12 medals in wrestling and 10 in weightlifting as the two sporting disciplines stood tall&nbsp;for the Indian contingent&nbsp;in Birmingham 2022.

After a memorable run in Tokyo Olympics last year, the Indian contingent roared and inspired once again in the recently-concluded Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2022 edition in Birmingham.

After a memorable run in Tokyo Olympics last year, the Indian contingent roared and inspired once again in the recently-concluded Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2022 edition in Birmingham. The entire Team India squad consisted of several medal contenders such as PV Sindhu, Manpreet Singh-led Indian men's hockey team, Harmanpreet Kaur-led Indian women's cricket team, Mirabai Chanu, Sharath Kamal, Bajrang Punia-starrer wrestling camp. While many big names and strong medal contenders didn't disappoint, some relatively-unknown players and sporting stars made a mark as well. I bet not many would've googled lawn bowls before the women's team attained gold whereas the men's settled for silver. Thus, there were quite a few positives for India as the star-studded squad kept the national flag flying high throughout the tournament. Here's reliving top five team or individual performances at the Games: ALSO READ | From PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen to mixed team's silver: How Indian shuttlers roared and inspired at CWG 2022 1) Badminton squad's exceptional run: Badminton remained one of the strongest disciplines for India at the showpiece event in Birmingham. In the mixed team event, defending champions India lost to Malaysia 3-1 in the summit clash to settle for silver. However, there were many highs overall. Chirag Shetty-Satwiksairaj Rankireddy won gold in men's doubles. Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand clinched bronze by beating the Australian pair of Hsuan-Yu Wendy Chen/Gronya Somerville in the women's doubles category. Kidambi Srikanth secured bronze in singles whereas 20-year-old Lakshya Sen claimed gold in the same category. PV Sindhu, the superstar shuttler, won her maiden gold at the Games defeating Canada's Michelle Li 21-15, 21-13 to complete a CWG set (gold, silver and bronze). 2) Wrestlers' dominance: Among all sports, wrestling remained the most most successful for Team India at CWG 2022 with as many as 12 medals. For the unversed, all the dozen wrestlers had returned with medals in Gold Coast 2018 and they managed to replicate the same this time around as well. The likes of Bajrang Punia, Deepak Punia, Ravi Dahiya, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik won a gold medal each whereas the likes of Pooja Sihag, Mohit Grewal, Naveen Sihag, Divya Kakran also returned as CWG 2022 medal winners. 3) Sharath Kamal - The veteran who won more gold medals than 56 countries at CWG'22: The 40-year-old Sharath Kamal ended with a rollicking campaign in CWG'22. The table tennis player clinched three gold medals and a silver medal for India at the recently-concluded 2022 edition. Sharath won gold medals in the men's team, mixed doubles and men's singles events whereas he settled for silver in the men's doubles category in Birmingham 2022. ALSO READ | PM Narendra Modi interacts with Commonwealth Games' medal winners at his residence 4) The lawn bowls' team's success: Not many Indians would've be aware about this sport had it not been the hype generated by the men's and women's team courtesy of their performances in CWG'22. The women’s fours team -- comprising Lovely Choubey, Pinki, Nayanmoni Saikia, and Rupa Rani -- beat South Africa in the final to help India win its maiden gold and first-ever medal at the Games in lawn bowls. The men's team having the likes of Sunil Bahadur, Navneet Singh, Chandan Kumar Singh and Dinesh Kumar clinched the silver medal after losing to Northern Ireland. Before this, the country had managed a best of fourth position — in the women's triples event in 2010 and the men's fours event in 2014. ALSO READ | CWG 2022: Indian contingent shines, ends campaign at fourth slot with a staggering 61 medals 5) Mirabai Chanu-starrer weightlifters: After her resounding success at Tokyo 2020, Mirabai continued to rise up the ladder and ended with gold in her 49kg category, with a total of 201 kg. Not only Mirabai, many weightlifters stunned with their performances at the big stage. Achinta Sheuli (gold), Jeremy Lalrinnunga (gold), Gurdeet Singh (bronze), Vikas Thakur (silver), Harjinder Kaur (bronze), etc. roared to make their presence felt. India clinched 22 gold, 16 silver and 23 bronze medals at the Games in the 2022 edition. Out of the total 61, India accounted for a staggering 12 medals in wrestling and 10 in weightlifting as the two sporting disciplines stood tall for the Indian contingent in Birmingham 2022.

From PV Sindhu & Co. to lawn bowls' memorable run: India's top 5 performances in CWG'22

In pics - Commonwealth Games 2022 concludes with glittery closing ceremony in Birmingham