It's a small step towards my big goal in Paris Olympics, says Sreeshankar

The lanky youngster's road to silver, however, was not that smooth as he slipped to the sixth spot after his 7.84m jump in the third attempt.

He may have missed out on a gold by the thinnest of margins, but the ever-smiling Murali Sreeshankar, who bagged a historic silver medal in men's long jump at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, said this is just the beginning and he is hungry for more success.

The lanky youngster's road to silver, however, was not that smooth as he slipped to the sixth spot after his 7.84m jump in the third attempt.

The 23-year-old endured a further setback when he the sport's latest technology, only introduced less than a year ago, caught him committing a foul in his fourth attempt.

With two attempts remaining, the Kerala lad listened to his dad-cum-coach S Murali's advice from the sidelines to execute a perfect 8.08m jump, that rewarded him with a silver.

"I've been waiting for a medal (at a global meet) for a very long time. I was seventh at World Indoor and World Outdoor, sixth at World Juniors, fourth Asian Indoors, sixth at Asian Games," Sreeshankar told PTI.

"Every time I was 6-7-6-7-4, so I was really happy with the silver. I have been waiting for a global medal for a very long time, but I kept missing out. This is a small step towards my big goal in the 2024 Paris Olympics and I'm working towards that.

"Every athlete has gone through it. (Reigning Olympic champion) Miltiadis Tentoglou told me in Greece that even 'I too came 7-6-4 multiple times' then he went to win the gold (in Tokyo). It's a step by step process," he added.