Need to get the bronze monkey off my back: Tejaswin

Tejaswin Shankar won the bronze medal in the men's decathlon event at the Asian Games in Japan on September 27, 2026 | Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy Tejaswin Shankar doesn’t mince words. The former high jumper, now a two-time decathlon Asian Games medalist – the only Indian to do so – has become more measured in his words, but his candidness has lost none of the edge that makes him one of the more honest and articulate Indian athletes.And on Sunday (September 27, 2026), the 27-year-old was brutal in his self assessment after finishing with a bronze here. “It’s a lost opportunity for a gold and for a silver, here I am settling for a bronze,” he began, before deciding to discard the veneer of cliches.Keep track | Asian Games 2026 LIVE: India’s Pincky Balhara makes to semifinals in women’s Kurash, assures of bronze medal“No, it was pretty bad. I can’t even make up things to justify this performance, other than the fact that half way through day two, I was only thinking of when it would be over, I just wanted to be done with competing for this year,” he admitted.Tejaswin finished with 7924 points – better than the 7666 that got him a silver last time around – but it was not more than a blip in what has been a long, exhausting year that saw him become the first Indian to breach the 8000-barrier and win a Commonwealth Games medal in the event.“The reality is that the decathlon is not just such a physical event but it is also very mental event. There’s only so many of them you can do in a year. It’s like a marathon, there is a limit to how many you can run. Yuma (Maruyama), who won gold, did one decathlon in April, started one in May but didn’t finish and this is his second. I have been going on since January 30. Those things add up,” he explained.He insisted it was not a compulsion but admitted it took a toll. “I had to do it; I needed to get that practice. But I did four events this year, and I am thankful that the AFI not only allowed me to skip the inter-state championship but also bent their policy and considered my Federation Cup performance for selection; else I wouldn’t have crossed 7200 points here.”“That being said, I have scored more than 7900 points in every event I have done, which speaks of the improvement I have made over the past year. In my mind, consistency is more important than a one-off big performance. Now I just have to find another 300 points and add all the good things I did through the year into one meet and there is the 8300 points which will help me qualify for the World Championships,” he declared.The mention of one-off performances was not accidental; Tejaswin knows the kind of hype they create, only to disappear as quickly as they come. But he is also clear that, going forward, he needs to rework his schedule and plan his participations to ensure optimum performance on the biggest stages.“It’s very important to be able to do that (plan schedule) if I aspire to go to the Worlds next year or the Olympics after that. I can’t be doing five decathlons and then expect to score 8400 at the end of the year to qualify for the Olympics. Ideally, three events in a year is the sweet spot. It’s something I need to work out in co-operation with the federation, but it’s also something I need to work around so that the Championship event of that year is my 2nd or 3rd,” he explained.Watched by his coach Kip Janvrin – a former American decathlete with the world record for most career decathlon wins (41) and 26 with over 8000 points – who flew in specially to watch him, back-to-back bronze at the CWG and AG might be something to celebrate for most athletes but for Tejaswin, it’s a “monkey I need to get off my back, I am really, really upset at it at the moment”.But that’s in the future. For now, Tejaswin’s immediate concern is grading his students’ work, something he has kept pending for over a week now to compete here. A graduate teaching assistant at his alma mater, Kansas State University’s kinesiology department, where he teaches biomechanics and introduction to kinesiology as part of funding for his master’s degree in kinesiology, Tejaswin is at home juggling multiple roles – much like the decathlon. He simply wants to be the best in it. “I don’t want to be anyone’s role model, if someone wants to learn something, it’s to enjoy doing what you do. That’s all,” he signs off. Published - September 28, 2026 10:40 am IST