Inter State Athletics Championships 2023: Triple jumper Akhilesh to undergo surgery Sunday after horror injury

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Triple jumper Akhilesh will undergo surgery at a hospital in Bhubaneswar on Sunday morning after the 20-year-old athlete suffered a horror injury on his right leg at the Inter-State Athletics Championships at the Kalinga Stadium on Saturday (June 17).

On being asked for an update, an official revealed that Akhilesh is admitted at the Care Hospital -- 4.2 kilometers from the Kalinga Stadium -- in the state's capital while confirming that Odisha's Sports and Youth Services Department will bear all the cost of his treatment and surgery.

"He is admitted care hospital and the department is on top of things to ensure he gets the best treatment. The department will bear all the expenses and he will have surgery tomorrow. There might be a chance of implant as well and he could be out of the hospital in less than a week time but complete recovery could take a month," said the official.

The horrific incident happened during the men's triple jump final of AFI's Asian Games qualifiers. Akhilesh was attempting his second jump of the session when he awkwardly landed on his feet and twisted his ankle. A journalist, who witnessed the incident, said that his shin bone popped out of his skin and was visible soon after as Akhilesh came crashing down at the beginning of the pit.

"His first two landings were clean but his third landing was awkward as it appeared he didn't land his feet flat but on the inside instead, he fell soon after and the next thing I saw was his shin bone had come out. The crowd was stunned as well," said journalist Sushant Kumar Singh.

Akhilesh, a native of Karnataka's Udupi, is a rookie in the senior domestic circuit of Indian athletics, who made his debut at the Federation Cup in Ranchi last month. He finished a commendable seventh in a field consisting of the likes of Commonwealth Games medallists Eldhose Paul and Abdullah Aboobacker, and Mohammed Salahuddin.

Akhilesh, a student of Mangalore University, is considered an upcoming talent in the triple jump as he won the National Youth Games and Khelo India Youth Games gold medal last year before making his senior debut this season. Inter-State was also his second senior tournament.