From Battling In Courts To Winning CWG Bronze: Look At High Jumper Tejaswin Shankar's Journey

Tejaswin Shankar won India its first-ever medal in the men's high jump event at the Commonwealth Games in its 2022 edition in Birmingham on Wednesday. This journey towards the medal was however not an easy one for this athlete. The 23-year-old Shankar had to deal with many hardships on his road to the Commonwealth Games glory.

Shankar who joined the athletics squad late, opened the track and field account for the country in Birmingham with a bronze in men's high jump.

Initially, he was not a part of the nation's 36-member Athletics contingent because of his inability to participate in an inter-state meet held in Chennai, which coincided with his participation in NCAA Championship in the USA. He attained the qualification standard of 2.27 m in the Championships, but that was still enough to ensure his inclusion in the CWG contingent.

The athlete took the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) to the court over this. A legal battle followed which led to many sleepless nights for Shankar. AFI eventually agreed to include him if Indian Olympic Association (IOA) increased the quota for athletics. Arokia Rajiv, a quarter-mile runner who failed in fitness test paved way for Shankar's inclusion in the contingent as a replacement.

There was another obstacle to overcome as Commonwealth Games Federation did not allow his late inclusion. The CWG Federation only accepted his entry after two members of the contingent failed a dope test.

If faith and luck had worked in Shankar's favour till now, the CWG high jump arena was his chance to showcase his peak-level skill and prove that all the hard work done by him, done for him by others and all the sleepless nights were worth it.

In the Men's high jump finals on Wednesday, he achieved a