Inter-State Athletics: In gruelling warmth, Tejaswin Shankar meets Asiad mark in decathlon

Moments after ending the 1500m, the final occasion of the gruelling two-day decathlon, Tejaswin Shankar walked as much as all his opponents, hugged every one and requested them to remain again within the stadium for a couple of minutes extra.

Tejaswin, who achieved the Asian Games qualifying customary set by the Athletics Federation of India, wished a gaggle image with all of the individuals. “Bhayon kahin nahi jaana hai (Brothers, please don’t go away). We need to take a picture and that should get published in the papers,’” the Commonwealth Games excessive leap bronze medallist advised them.

And on his command, the athletes eliminated their vests. There they had been, a dozen or so drained males with chiselled abs standing beneath shiny Kalinga Stadium lights in a sizzling and humid Bhubaneswar.

Not simply post-event, Tejaswin led the way in which all via.

The Delhi athlete amassed 7,576 factors (qualification mark: 7,500) in two days, registering three private bests – within the excessive leap, pole vault and discus throw – throughout the ongoing Inter-State meet. Tejaswin, who has returned from the US after a six-year stint, was competing in his first decathlon on Indian soil. He has already accomplished a 7,648 factors decathlon within the US earlier this 12 months, which was simply 10 factors in need of the nationwide document.

Tejaswin insisted we click on a gaggle image of the decathletes. pic.twitter.com/GbeDmq6UTa

— Andrew (@AndrewAmsan) June 17, 2023

The 24-year-old credited the medal to his decathlon opponents who helped him pull off the essential 1500m with a superb tempo.

“I don’t think I would have been able to push through in the 1500m event if it wasn’t for the others in the race. I dedicate this medal to all the decathletes who participated in this weather. I don’t deserve this gold, they do. If I could divide my medals into 18 parts and give them to all the participants, I would,” Tejaswin mentioned.

One of the occasions the place Tejaswin registered an enormous private finest and amassed loads of valuable factors was the pole vault. His vault coach for the day was India’s present nationwide document holder Siva.

“He was helping me from the sidelines. Pole vault is one of the most technical events and it is like solving a physics equation. It was because of Shiva I could make those minute changes and jumped an outright personal best of 4m,” mentioned Tejaswin.

Tejaswin carried ahead the boldness gained on the pole vault to the javelin throw, the place he recorded a giant throw of 52.32m (46.84 earlier finest).

Before the ultimate occasion of the competition, Tejaswin was in two minds about whether or not to go all out and try and breach the nationwide document or run a clean race and simply deal with qualifying for Asian Games. He selected the latter. “I hope you don’t write I was weak. I saw that I had to run below 4 min 30 seconds to break the national record and that was way better than my national personal best. Then I told myself it would be better to break the national record by 200-300 points next time than just improve it by 10,” he mentioned.

1500m is essentially the most dreaded race for decathletes as they attempt to squeeze out each ounce of vitality from their drained legs to cap off their two-day competitors on a excessive. “You develop a camaraderie at the end of the event. Most of us didn’t even know each other before the event but at the end, we hugged each other shirtless while drenched in sweat. That’s the kind of bond we develop,” he mentioned.

The Pole vault is an space the place he sees loads of scope for enchancment. He feels it’s not an enormous ask to succeed in 4.20m or 4.40m with the form of velocity and explosiveness he possesses.

Tejaswin spoke at size along with his opponents after the race. And they held on to each phrase he uttered, nodding alongside as Tejaswin gave his ‘decathlon masterclass.’

“I want to be the torchbearer of the sport. I saw that people came to watch my pole vault event despite the unbearable heat and that is what I want. There are tremendously talented people in the sport but they need to be highlighted. I think it is time to promote the sport,” he mentioned.

Despite making his intentions clear that he would deal with decathlon for the Asian Championships and Asian Games, the excessive leap isn’t going to take a again seat, Tejaswin mentioned. He has set his sights on the Paris Olympics, the place he hopes to compete in his pet occasion however for now, his focus is on the 10-event contest.

“Just because I had a good high jump I was able to lift myself and do well in the other nine events. I have to focus on jumping higher. I am aiming at knocking on the doors of 2.30m. Since 2016 every year I have jumped over 2.25m, so if I have that consistency why can’t I jump 2.30m? That is my next target,” he mentioned.

With only a month left for the Asian Championships to be held in Bangkok, Tejaswin is planning to pack his baggage and go JSW campus in Bellary for his restoration.

“The real challenge is how well I can recover and replenish the fluids I have lost now. There isn’t enough time to make technical changes or massive improvements in terms of performance. I have to be extremely fresh…so that the 11.20s in 100m becomes a 10.80s and that sets the tone for the competition,” he mentioned.