With the wait to raised his excessive bounce nationwide document getting longer and torturous, Tejaswin Shankar is now seeking to the decathlon for consolation.
He is now aiming to turn out to be the primary Indian to interrupt the 8000-point barrier within the multi-eventer and feels he may get there quickly.
“I really feel that I can get to 8000 before (high jump’s) 2.30m but I don’t want to jinx myself because I’ve been waiting for nearly eight years for that 2.30.
“That’s the whole reason I decided to do the combined events so I really want to get that first,” stated Shankar, the Asian Games decathlon silver medallist, in a chat with The Hindu.
“The 2.29 (his high jump national record) is the worst number to ever be, I’d rather be on 2.28 than be at 2.29 and not be at 2.30.”
The 26-year-old broke the decathlon National document (new document 7666 factors) on the final Asian Games and his performances within the latest National Federation Athletics Championships in Kochi point out that he’s getting nearer to 8000.
“For me, the biggest positives in Kochi were the javelin and the 1500m, the last two events,” stated Shankar, additionally decathlon’s Asian bronze medallist and the excessive bounce bronze medallist on the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
“My first throw was a personal best by 2m and I was also very happy about the 1500 because it’s the most dreaded event.
“In Kochi, the biggest challenge for me was not about trying to run behind somebody and run a good time, rather I wanted to run the worst time and lead the race and that’s what I was trying to do, especially after the first lap. And I surprised myself at the end.”
That introduced him a private finest too. Shankar would have hit one other excessive within the pole vault too however there was an issue.
“My best is 4.10m but I jumped 4m. The reason I couldn’t take the next height was just because I didn’t have a bigger pole,” he stated.
After specializing in the excessive bounce in an try and qualify for the Paris Olympics final yr, Shankar is absolutely into the multi-eventer this season.
“This year and onwards, especially until LA 2028 Olympics, the goal would be to try and become the best combined events athlete I can be. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to the high jump in between but that’s not my primary goal.
“Even if I do 2.30m in those competitions, that doesn’t mean my primary goal is to move to the high jump but to try and get as many points as I can.”
Shankar is now searching for a contest in Europe to enhance his decathlon document.
“The goal is to try and get a competition in Europe later this year where I can, without worrying about the results,” simply rating as huge as I can as a result of the circumstances shall be somewhat extra pleasant. Because climate positively performs a task,” he stated.
Published – April 26, 2025 10:09 pm IST
