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Tejaswin Shankar, following his outstanding achievement of winning his first-ever international Decathlon medal, has expressed his eagerness to participate in the high jump events at the Olympics and the World Championships.
Despite winning a bronze medal at the Asian Athletics Championships, Tejaswin stressed that he does not want to stay away from his 'bread and butter' event.
Notably, he is currently placed 31st in a pool of 36 athletes who are eligible to compete. Tejaswin remains in contention for the forthcoming Budapest World Championships scheduled to take place in August. In addition to meeting the qualifying standards, athletes have a perk to secure entry on the basis of their world ranking points.
After the athlete grabbed a well-deserving bronze medal, he urged his wish to qualify for the 2024 Para Olympics. His statement reads:
"I was unable to cross 2.30m in the high jump which brought stagnation and I wanted to do something new. That is why I took up the decathlon. At the Asian level (Asian Championships and Asian Games), I want to go ahead with the decathlon but the High jump is my bread-and-butter event. I want to qualify in the high jump at the 2024 Paris Olympics." - Tejaswin Shankar.
It is pertinent to mention here that while featuring in his maiden Decathlon, he totalled 7,527 points to achieve the bronze medal. During this tally, he recorded a couple of personal bests in Discus Throw and Javelin Throw.
Tejaswin, who also won a medal in the high jump during the Commonwealth Games 2022, says that he would discuss things and take advice from the Athletics Federation of India regarding his chances for the World Championships.
Tejaswin Shankar finds scope of improvement in certain categories
Despite recent success, the 24-year-old believes that he needs to prove his mettle in Pole Vault, Shot Put, and Discus Throw. Nevertheless, he finds himself worthy enough in a 100m race, long jump, high jump, and 110m hurdle.
Tejaswin Shankar concluded by saying:
"It has been only one year in Decathlon for me and I will as I get more exposure. I want to do 4.10m or 4.20m in pole vault. I have improved in Javelin here."
