Blood, sweat and grit - Tejaswin Shankar gives his all to breach Asian Games qualification mark

On Saturday, when he crossed the finish line in 1500m, Tejaswin had his arms aloft, knowing he had won gold and achieved the Asian Games qualification mark.

Tejaswin Shankar poses for a photograph with his fellow decathletes after winning the decathlon gold medal at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on June 17, 2023. | Photo Credit: Aashin Prasad/Sportstar

Without breaking his stride, Tejaswin Shankar came running down the final stretch of the 1500m in what was the final event of the decathlon in the Inter-State Athletics Championships here on Saturday. When he crossed the finish line, Tejaswin had his arms aloft, knowing he had won gold and achieved the Asian Games qualification mark. It was all smiles around as he went around hugging and congratulating his fellow decathletes on the track. He went around asking them to stay back and not to pack their bags and leave already.

“If I could, I would break the medal into 18 equal pieces and give it to them. I hope at least, I could have a picture with them and I hope you (media) use that picture and not use mine alone,” he said, acknowledging their contribution.

In the 1500m race, Tejaswin was aware that he had to run below 4:40:00 to achieve the qualification. The athlete from Delhi revealed, “Everyone [other competitors] came together and said, ‘We have to push him’. There was one guy with me through the race to keep pushing me. I think that goes beyond just a single event and transcends the boundaries of the sport. I dedicate this medal to all the other decathletes who competed in this heat and in this weather. I don’t deserve this gold, those guys do.”

But Tejaswin’s gold medal cannot be encapsulated by what happened in just the 1500m. It is literally a story of blood, sweat and grit in punishing humid conditions in what was only his third decathlon of his career and his first in India. He ran his first two decathlon events in Boston and Arizona, but here he was running in a city where the energy-sapping humidity levels were proving detrimental to the athletes.

On the first morning, just as he began his warm-up before his first event – 100m sprint – he started bleeding from his nose. For someone, who was ‘finding calm in the chaos’ of the decathlon, this was a setback he wasn’t prepared for. “Even before I started running, I was bleeding so that psychologically affected me. I don’t think I was extremely focused on the 100m. There is a big difference between competing in India and overseas, which you can only learn by doing it,” said Tejaswin.

Tejaswin came down to Bhubaneswar with the hopes of pushing past the 7500 barrier and breaking the national record (7658), which he came within 10 points of breaching in Arizona in April. But by the end of the third event, Tejaswin was already playing a catch-up game. He was well off his mark in the 100m and long jump, two of his favoured events, and shot put. He then had to recalibrate.

Tejaswin Shankar gearing up for the javelin throw, one of the ten events, part of the decathlon at the Inter-State Athletics Championships. | Photo Credit: Aashin Prasad/Sportstar

And by Tejaswin’s own admission, he is a ‘solid day one guy’ in the decathlon.

“Day one events are all well-suited for me and I score a lot of points but that’s where I lacked in this meet, which was a new challenge for me. I have not performed badly on day one before. All my weak events are on day two. I usually play catch-up in day two events after performing well on day one. My whole goal is to get as many points on day one,” said Tejaswin.

He then went back to his room and reset his approach after a nap. The next event was the high jump, a discipline Tejaswin had given his time and energy for the better part of his athletic career, to help revive his campaign. He jumped a 2.20m, a personal best in the decathlon high jump, which boosted his confidence before he finished the day with 4209 points after the 400m race.

On the second day, he had to improve his record in his weak events which were the first four of the five events (110m hurdles, discus throw, pole vault and javelin) before the final 1500m race. While he faltered in the hurdles, he surprised many by registering personal best scores in the high jump, pole vault and javelin.

In pole vault, he improved his height from 3.60m to 4m, with help from pole vault national record holder Siva Subramaniam, who he happened to befriend earlier this week when his early morning training was rained out. “He [Siva] was my coach at the vault, he was helping me from the sidelines on what to do. There were some minor adjustments that I needed to do which Siva helped me make. To jump 4m here was an outright personal best for me,” said Tejaswin.

Just as the clock struck 12 pm, and with the temperature at 39°c, Tejaswin soared over the bar at 4m and fell onto the landing mat. He let out a loud roar by clenching his fists. By playing catch up, he had taken his tally to 5646 points with the final two events left in the evening.

“Even as people were talking on Twitter about what scores I needed to make, I knew what I had to do,” he says with a smile. “Pole vault really gave me the motivation that something special can happen today if I have a good day in javelin throw and 1500m race. I was expecting 47-48m in javelin because my best is 46.84m. But I threw 49 in my first attempt, then 51m and 52.32m in my last attempt which gave me a good cushion coming into the 1500m.”

After a poor start and at the end of nine events in gruelling heat, the national record was still within achievable distance. He had a decision to make. “In the 1500m, I had the choice between pushing myself to go for a personal best or even a national record or settling a little at the back and making the Asian Games qualification mark. I wouldn’t call myself weak but I picked the latter option because qualification was most important because I can still make the NR in the future,” said Tejaswin.

He secured the qualification mark with a score of 7576 but Tejaswin will remember this trip for more than just his personal landmark. While fellow decathletes willed him on in the 1500m, it was Tejaswin who was doing the rallying and cheering for the others in the earlier events. Although Tejaswin couldn’t make a personal best score here, the athletes who finished from second to fourth – Yaman Deep Sharma, Gokul S. and Stalin Joes – all registered a new personal best. Gokul, who record a score of 6937 points, said Tejaswin’s presence has helped elevate their level.

Creating a camaraderie

“In the end, we (decathletes) end up creating a camaraderie among us. Paseene mein bhi hum hug karte hai (we hug even through all the sweat), that’s how close we have become. On the first day, we didn’t know each other’s names but now we have forged a friendship that he ruined his own race so that I can qualify. I think that’s the spirit of the decathlon. I think that’s why everybody should tune in and watch the decathlon,” he said.

Tejaswin Shankar at the end of the 1500m race. | Photo Credit: Aashin Prasad/Sportstar

In his own words, Tejaswin wants to ‘become the sport’s torchbearer’ in the country and hopes that many people will continue to follow the sport closely as they did during the Inter-State.

“I am doing it so that many people come and watch it so decathlon as a sport also improves. If we can come and cheer on our decathletes, I think it speaks a lot. Reality is you won’t get big scores or jumps in decathlon but when you can understand and follow the sport over two days, you will enjoy it,” he says.

With two difficult but extremely rewarding days behind him, Tejaswin hopes there is a swift clarity on his berth for the Asian Championships (July) and the Asian Games (September) so he can plan his rest, recovery and replenish to build himself back up again.

But before all that, his biggest hurdle begins the very next day as he prepares to leave for home. “My first challenge starts tomorrow morning by asking my airline - Indigo - to please take my pole in the cargo terminal so that I get it back with me in time,” he signed off.