Tejaswin Shankar crosses Asian Games qualifying standards in decathlon

India's current national record holder in men's high jump Tejaswin Shankar shot a personal best of 7,648 points to finish second in the decathlon competition at the Jim Click Shootout competition in Arizona, USA. This helped him break the qualifying standard of 2023 Asian Games decathlon. This was set by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) at 7,500 points.

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The Indian athlete made his combined-event debut at the Big 12 Conference in Texas in May last year. This was only his second decathlon competition. Tejaswin Shankar scored an astonishing 7,592 there, the highest score by an Indian competitor in the decathlon in nearly 11 years. Tejaswin Shankar, who won a bronze medal in the high jump at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, improved his personal best to 7,648. He is now only 10 points short of Bharatinder Singh's 2011 national record for the Indian decathlon.

Decathlon is a combined event consisting of 10 different sports. They are 100 m sprint, long jump, high jump, shot put, discus throw, 110 m hurdles, javelin throw, pole vault, 400 m run, and 1500 m run. Players receive points for their performance in each game. They are also ranked according to the total tally at the conclusion of all events.

Tejaswin led the high jump, 400m events, while he finished second in the long jump, shot put and 110m hurdles. The pole vault event, where he finished eighth, was his weakest performance. In the Jim Click Shootout, Till Steinforth of the University of Nebraska placed first in the decathlon with 7,845 points. Third-place finisher Emil Uhlin scored 7,440 points.

Tejaswin Shankar had hit headlines ahead of last year's Commonwealth Games. He didn't get chance in the Indian delegation for the Birmingham meet despite meeting the entry requirements. The high jumper traveled to the UK and returned with a bronze medal following the intervention of the Indian courts. Following his success in Birmingham, the high jumper had expressed a desire to transition to the meeting in Arizona marked his first competitive decathlon event since that time.

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In addition, Tejaswin Shankar won the gold medal in the men's high jump at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, a World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold event in Boston in February this year.