Injured but undeterred, Tejaswin Shankar wins India's first decathlon medal

Tejaswin Shankar scripted a landmark chapter in Indian athletics at the 2026 Commonwealth Games on Friday, becoming the first man from the country to win a medal in the decathlon at the Games. Battling through a painful knee injury that had threatened to derail his entire campaign, the 27-year-old captured a historic bronze medal, adding to his Asian Games silver in the discipline and solidifying his standing as one of India's most versatile track and field athletes.CWG Day 9 UpdatesIn a display of sheer resilience across two gruelling days and 10 events, Shankar accumulated 7,976 points to share the podium alongside global icons: Grenada's Lindon Victor, the Paris Olympics bronze medallist who took gold (8,096 pts), and Canada's Damian Warner, the Tokyo Olympic champion who secured silver (8,036 pts).OVERCOMING INJURY AND EARLY DOUBTSShankar's campaign began under a heavy cloud of uncertainty. Just days earlier on Tuesday, a flare-up of patellar tendonitis in his knee forced him to pull out of his marquee event, the individual high jump. With the decathlon widely regarded as the ultimate test of athletic endurance, serious doubts lingered over whether his body could withstand the punishment of ten distinct disciplines. Those concerns appeared validated in the opening event, the 100m sprint, where a cautious Shankar finished last in his heat with a time of 10.96 seconds.However, the turnaround was immediate. In the very next event, the long jump, Shankar produced a spectacular personal best effort of 7.82m to top the entire field and kickstart his medal charge.He maintained his momentum through the afternoon sessions:Shot Put: Delivered a solid 13.09m throw to finish 7th in an event dominated by eventual champion Lindon Victor.High Jump: Returned to his pet event-the discipline where he won individual bronze at the 2022 Birmingham Games-and put on an absolute clinic. Shankar cleared 2.15m to top the standings, standing out as the only athlete in the entire field to cross the 2.00m barrier.400m: Closed out Day 1 by clocking 49.51 seconds to finish fourth in his heat.By the end of the first five events, Shankar sat firmly in 5th place overall, well within striking distance of the leaders.DAY 2 SURGE AND LATE DRAMA Tejaswin Shankar finished fourth in 1500m, the last event of decathlon (Reuters Photo) Shankar launched a fierce assault on Day 2, immediately storming into the medal positions by placing second in the 110m hurdles with a crisp time of 14.41 seconds – finishing only behind Olympic champion Damian Warner (14.04s).He kept up the pressure in the discus throw, setting another personal best with a mark of 40.44m to finish 6th.The competition hit a late snag during the pole vault, where Shankar cleared 4.30m to finish 8th. The set-back briefly knocked him out of the virtual podium places, with England's Sammy Ball leapfrogging him into the bronze medal spot heading into the final two events.Unfazed, Shankar launched a dramatic comeback in the javelin throw. A strong 53.12m effort earned him a 4th-place finish in the event, catapulting him back up into 3rd position overall.In the final, nerve-shredding 1500m run, Shankar needed only to manage his lead over the chasing pack. Clocking 4:36.19 to finish fifth-12 seconds behind the race leader – he comfortably did enough to hold off the field, securing the historic bronze medal and capping off one of the greatest iron-man efforts in Indian athletics history.- EndsPublished By: Saurabh KumarPublished On: Aug 1, 2026 01:14 IST