India’s Praveen Chithravel and Selva Prabhu secured their spots in the men’s triple jump final, delivering a double boost for the nation on Day 8 of the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on Thursday. Praveen earned his place smoothly with a calm, composed performance, whereas Selva fought his way back from the edge of elimination after opening with two consecutive fouls, locking down his spot with a high-pressure final jump.
Praveen recorded his top mark of 16.41m on his very first attempt. Even though he came up just short of the 16.60m automatic entry benchmark, the effort was more than sufficient to earn him second place in the qualification rankings and send him through to the final. Jamaica’s Jordan Scott led the entire pack with a leap of 16.56m, with the top 12 jumpers overall earning their places in the medal round.
Selva’s path to the final was packed with drama. The athlete from Tamil Nadu experienced a difficult start, committing fouls on his first two tries and leaving himself zero room for mistakes on his third and last jump. Staring at an early exit, Selva kept his cool under intense pressure to deliver a strong 16.26m effort, leaping up to third place in the overall standings and comfortably locking in his spot for the final.
Praveen set the tone right away with that opening 16.41m mark, which put him at the top of the leaderboard early in the qualifying round. Feeling confident that his initial distance was plenty to advance, he decided to pass on his second attempt. Jordan Scott eventually passed him with a 16.56m jump, but Praveen remained firmly in a qualifying position throughout the entire competition.
In contrast, Selva had trouble finding his mark early on, as both of his initial attempts resulted in red flags. With his Commonwealth Games journey on the line, the Indian jumper delivered his best effort right when it was needed most. His final jump of 16.26m put a valid distance on the board, vaulted him up to third place overall, and officially gave India its second finalist in the event.
While neither Indian athlete hit the 16.60m automatic standard, their final results of 16.41m and 16.26m were easily enough to place them second and third overall, highlighting the strength India currently possesses in the event.
The men’s triple jump final is set for August 1, where both Praveen and Selva will look to turn their qualification success into podium finishes and medals for India.
– Ends
Source link
[ad_3]
