‘I Feel I Deserve This’: David Solomon’s 8m Breakthrough Earns Him Asian Games Call-Up

New Delhi, September 17: For David Solomon, the Asian Games call-up is more than just a place in India's athletics contingent. It is the reward for a season in which the Tamil Nadu long jumper finally turned potential into consistent performances beyond the eight-metre barrier.

The 24-year-old has been added to India's Asian Games 2026 athletics squad as a late replacement for World U20 Championships medallist Shahnavaz Khan, who was ruled out through injury.

But Solomon knows his selection is not simply a result of another athlete's absence. He had already put together a strong body of work in 2026, highlighted by a stunning personal best of 8.22m at the Indian Athletics Series-10 in Thiruvananthapuram on June 14. That effort lifted him to fourth on India's all-time long jump list.

Speaking exclusively to myKhel, Solomon admitted that the opportunity has come at an important stage of his career.

"I'm feeling great, and I feel I deserve this. Unfortunately, Shahnavaz Khan got injured, which is why I got the opportunity. But it wasn't just because he was injured that I got the entry. Lalit Bhanot sir told me that if I crossed 8m at the Railways Competition, only then would he send me. I crossed 8m, and Bhanot sir helped me get the entry," Solomon told myKhel.

That mindset perhaps best explains the trajectory of his season. Solomon was no stranger to the seven-metre range, but crossing eight metres had remained an elusive target.

At the 2025 Federation Cup in Kochi, he had produced a personal best of 7.94m, falling just six centimetres short of the landmark. He continued to show flashes of his ability, including a 7.82m effort at the Indian Open Athletics Meet in Bengaluru.

The breakthrough finally arrived in Thiruvananthapuram. Competing at the Indian Athletics Series-10, Solomon produced a massive 8.22m leap to win the men's long jump. It was not only his first official eight-metre jump but also a performance that moved him into fourth place on India's all-time list. The competition itself was remarkable, with Shahnavaz Khan jumping 8.17m and Jithin Arjunan 8.12m.

The performance changed the narrative around Solomon. Instead of being an athlete knocking on the door of the eight-metre mark, he had suddenly become one of India's leading long jumpers.

And he backed it up. At the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar later that month, Solomon jumped 8.06m to finish third behind Murali Sreeshankar and Shahnavaz Khan. The mark came with a legal wind of -0.3m/s and gave him another competition beyond eight metres.

For Solomon, however, the journey to that point had not been completely smooth. He began 2026 with a 7.69m effort for third place at the National Indoor competition in Bhubaneswar. He then improved to 7.77m at the Indian Athletics Series-6 in Chennai before finishing seventh at the Federation Cup with a best of 7.70m.

The results did not suggest that a huge breakthrough was immediately around the corner. But Solomon kept working. His patience eventually paid off spectacularly in Thiruvananthapuram, where he added 28 centimetres to his previous personal best of 7.94m. The 8.22m jump also placed him among a select group of Indian long jumpers to have crossed the eight-metre barrier. With that performance, Solomon established himself as one of the country's leading athletes in the event.

Now, his attention turns towards the Asian Games. The presence of experienced long jumper Murali Sreeshankar adds another layer to the competition, but Solomon sees it as an opportunity to test himself against one of India's established stars rather than something to fear.

"Yes, Murali Sreeshankar will also be there and it's good for me. My current condition is that I'm targeting 8.20m or 8.30m at the Asian Games. I'm hoping for it and I have to execute as well," Solomon told myKhel.

That final sentence, "I have to execute as well" perhaps captures the next challenge perfectly. Solomon has already shown that he can jump beyond eight metres. He has produced 8.22m and followed it with 8.06m. The Asian Games will now provide him with an opportunity to reproduce that form on a much bigger stage.

His rise has been gradual rather than sudden. From a 7.94m personal best in 2025 to 8.22m in 2026, Solomon has made a significant leap forward.

Now, after earning his place in India's Asian Games squad, the Tamil Nadu athlete has another target in sight, proving that his breakthrough was not a one-off and turning his late opportunity into a memorable Asian Games performance.