Olympics Begin In
:
Days
:
Hours
:
Mins
 
Secs
Begin typing your search above and press return to search.

Commonwealth Games

Commonwealth Games 2022: Tejaswin Shankar wins India's first ever High Jump medal

Tejaswin Shankar finished with a best of 2.22m to bag the Bronze medal in High Jump at the 2022 CWG. The previous best an Indian had achieved was a 4th place finish in 1970.

Commonwealth Games 2022: Tejaswin Shankar wins Indias first ever High Jump medal
X

Tejaswin Shankar (Source: Twitter/Amanpreet Singh)

By

The Bridge Desk

Updated: 4 Aug 2022 4:18 AM GMT

Tejaswin Shankar, on Thursday, bagged the bronze medal in men's high jump at the ongoing 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games. The 23-year-old finished with a best of 2.22m to bag India's first-ever medal in high jump at the Commonwealth Games.

Shankar passed the first height of 2.05m, before clearing 2.10m, 2.15m, 2.19m and 2.22m all in his first attempts. This first attempt clearance of 2.22m is what helped him to his bronze eventually.

With the remaining two competitors for the bronze medal knocked out after failing to clear 2.25m in their three attempts, Tejaswin Shankar was assured of a bronze despite not clearing the height.

Having failed to clear 2.25m in his first two attempts, Shankar passed the height and attempted 2.28m in his final attempt before settling for bronze.

Before Shankar, the best position an Indian had achieved in men's high jump in CWG was by Bhim Singh who cleared 2.06m in the 1970 edition in Edinburgh.

"I had a long (US) collegiate season and started jumping in January but getting a bronze here is like a dream come true and I'm just happy to take something back home with me," an elated Shankar said.

Shankar had finished sixth in the 2018 Gold Coast edition with a best jump of 2.24m.

Shankar, who was added in the Indian athletics squad on the orders of Delhi High Court, has a season's best of 2.27m and personal best of 2.29m. Hamish Kerr of New Zealand won the gold while Australia's Brandon Starc clinched the silver. Both cleared 2.25m but could not soar over 2.28m but the Kiwi won the gold on count back.

"I've been seeing these guys (Hamish Kerr and Brandon Starc) on TV all the time so just to share the podium with them is spectacular. This is my first feather in my cap so I just want things to move forward from here," he added

On July 22, Shankar was cleared to compete at the Commonwealth Games after the organisers accepted his entry on the request of Indian Olympic Association (IOA), ending a month-long drama surrounding his participation. The organisers had initially rejected Shankar's late entry but the IOA later got confirmation from the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) and Birmingham CWG organisers about acceptance of his entry after a Delegate Registration Meeting (DRM).

Shankar had petitioned the Delhi High Court after he was not selected for the CWG despite achieving the qualifying standard set by the AFI. The national federation later told the Delhi HC that Shankar has been included in the Indian athletics team in place of 4x400m relay team member Arokia Rajiv, who was named in the original squad.

Initially, the AFI had requested the IOA to increase its quota to accommodate more athletes. The IOA, in turn, had requested the CWG organisers in this regard. Shankar had filed a petition at the Delhi High Court challenging the decision of the AFI to exclude him from the team, contending that he reached the qualification guidelines of the AFI by jumping 2.27m at the NCAA Championships in USA, where he is studying.

(With PTI inputs)

Next Story