Veteran Indian athlete Tejaswin Shankar has achieved something in Glasgow that no Indian has ever achieved before in the history of the Commonwealth Games. Tejaswin, who held the national record in the high jump until just a few weeks ago, has won the bronze medal in the decathlon at the Glasgow CWG. By completing the final event of the decathlon, the 1500-meter race, on Friday, July 31st, Tejaswin retained his third place and made history by winning the medal.
Tejaswin won bronze with the last event
The two-day men’s decathlon event featured a total of 10 athletics events, with the final five taking place on Friday. Tejaswin consistently hovered between third and fourth place. Then, in the javelin throw, he produced a remarkable season-best performance, securing third place. The focus then shifted to the final event, the 1500-meter race. Tejaswin completed the race in 4:36.19 minutes, earning a final score of 7976 points. This was enough to maintain his third-place finish.
History created in CWG for the second consecutive time
This is Tejaswin’s second consecutive medal at the Commonwealth Games, and what he achieved both times had never been achieved before in Indian athletics. Tejaswin also participated in the high jump at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham four years ago. Tejaswin won the silver medal in the high jump, becoming the first Indian athlete to do so. However, soon after, he abandoned the high jump and challenged himself in the decathlon, and now, four years later, he has won India’s first medal in this competition at the CWG.
Record in high jump, now strong in decathlon
Tejaswin Shankar, who stands approximately 6 feet 4 inches tall, was completely dedicated to the high jump until 2022. He held the national record of 2.29 meters, which he set in 2018. This record remained with him for eight years, until it was recently broken by Sarvesh Kushare. While the high jump record may have been broken, Tejaswin still holds the national record for the decathlon. He also won a silver medal in the same event at the 2022 Asian Games. Furthermore, at the 2026 Asian Indoor Championships in Tianjin, China, Shankar won gold in the heptathlon, scoring 5993 points , breaking his own national record.