Glasgow | Murali Sreeshankar became the first Indian long-jumper to win two successive medals at the Commonwealth Games as he once again claimed a silver at the event with a confident performance which showed that his two-year battle with a career-threatening knee injury was now well and truly over.

Having claimed his first silver in Birmingham in 2022, the 27-year-old added another to his collection after producing a best leap of 8.09 metres, capping an emotional comeback from the knee surgery that nearly derailed his career in 2024.

Before Sreeshankar, the country's only medallists in the event were Suresh Babu (men's bronze, 1978), Anju Bobby George (women's bronze, 2002) and M Prajusha (women's silver, 2010).

Sreeshankar was understandably elated.

"Very happy, very grateful for being here as well. Very grateful for being able to represent India at the global stage ever again. Two years ago, I didn't think that probably I'll be in Glasgow and represent my country," said the Kerala man, who is coached by his father S. Murali -- a former triple jump athlete.

Sreeshankar, however, could not hide his disappointment at not being able to bag a gold medal this time.

"I wanted to redeem the silver medal from Birmingham to gold. So, I am not satisfied with my performance. I have to keep improving my game, keep improving my skills," he said.

But he hoped that the momentum he has built here will come in handy for him at upcoming Asian Games in Japan.

"I have to work on my technique. But I feel that this is like a stepping stone, it will add confidence going ahead for the Asian Games," he noted.

Former world champion Tajay Gayle of Jamaica clinched the gold with a best jump of 8.15m, while local favourite Stephen Mackenzie grabbed the last spot on the podium with an 8.08m effort.

The medal was especially sweet considering where Sreeshankar stood just over a year ago.

A ruptured patellar tendon in April 2024 forced him to undergo surgery, and miss the Paris Olympics besides raising doubts over whether he would ever return to his best.

But here, he made another emphatic statement of resolve.

Competing in only his second Commonwealth Games after missing the 2018 edition due to an emergency appendix surgery, Sreeshankar opened confidently with a leap of 8.03m before stretching it to 8.09m in his second attempt to move into the lead.

The advantage proved short-lived as Gayle responded with an 8.15m effort to seize top spot.

Sreeshankar then endured two fouls as he searched for a bigger jump before managing 7.94m in his fifth attempt.

The medal continues an encouraging resurgence for the Kerala athlete, who has consistently jumped above the 8m mark this year.

He recorded a season's best of 8.38m at the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar.

The other Indian in the competition Lokesh Sathyanathan finished fifth with a best jump of 7.97m, which was achieved in his opening attempt.