Tejaswin Shankar is made for victories. And he proves this by winning the first ever Indian to clinch a medal at the High Jump event in Commonwealth Games 2022.
Shankar clinched a place at the podium with his highest jump of 2.22 meters. This helped him secure a bronze medal for India, the first in the history of the event for his country. And first for the Indian athletics team in this year’s event.
But did you know that his journey into the contingent has anything but smooth?
Tejaswini Shankar’s journey to bronze medal at CWG
Only two weeks ago, he was fighting a case for his inclusion in the contingent at Delhi High Court. The player was allegedly left out after he had failed to show up at the inter-state athletics championship. But he had earned an automatic qualification after completing a 2.27-meter jump earlier in the year. This victory granted him eligibility to compete in the CWG 2022.
Still, the bureaucracy had stalled his place in the Indian contingent for CWG.
The court ruled in his favor though and the player was shown a green light by the Indian Olympics Association. However, the player was still sitting at his home as his fellow teammates walked out for the opening ceremony.
Now Tejaswin Shankar has a medal to show for the immense talent that he possesses.
The remaining two medals at the event were won by Hamish Kerr of New Zealand and Brendon Starc of Australia. They both were tied for 2.25 meters but the Kiwi clinched gold on count back.
