High jump national record-holder Tejaswin Shankar wins gold at US Collegiate meet

What's the story?

India's ace High Jumper Tejaswin Shankar has bagged a gold medal at an Inter-Collegiate meet in the USA, namely the Iowa State Classic.

The background

21-year-old Tejaswin Shankar is the national record holder in high jump. The Delhi-born athlete set the record in April 2018 with a jump of 2.29 metres.

The lanky Tejaswin had started off with cricket but soon shifted to high jump upon the recommendation of his school coach. The youngster did exceptionally well in inter-school events and won multiple medals in the sport.

Shankar got a four-year scholarship to study at the Kansas State University. The high jumper has been studying Business Administration at the K-State University since 2017.

Some of Tejaswin's notable achievements include a gold medal at the 2015 Commonwealth Youth Games and a Silver at the 2016 South Asian Games. At the 2016 Junior National Championships in Coimbatore, the highly-determined athlete broke Hari Shankar Roy's 12-year-old national record of 2.25 metres with a fantastic jump of 2.26 metres. He was only 17 years old at the time he set the new national record. In 2018, Shankar improved upon his national record by jumping 2.29 metres for K-State athletics at the Texas tech invite.

The youngster is undoubtedly India's best hope in qualifying for Tokyo Olympics 2020 in High Jump.

Also check out: Tokyo Olympics 2020 Schedule

The heart of the matter

Tejaswin has now added another feather to his cap by winning a gold medal in high jump at the Iowa State Classic. Representing University team Kansas State, Shankar jumped his season's best of 2.25 metres to bag the yellow metal ahead of South Dakota' Zack Anderson, who clinched silver with his effort of 2.16 metres. Meanwhile, Jack Durst settled for bronze.

📣HIGH JUMP MASTERPIECE📣Tejaswin Shankar climbing over the competition in the high jump event!! His mark of 2.25m gave him plenty of room for the win at the #ISUClassic#KStateTF pic.twitter.com/vk2d6n4KZr

— K-State Track (@KStateTFXC) February 15, 2020

Earlier, the former student of Sardar Patel Vidyalaya had begun his season with a massive jump of 2.23 metres at the Kansas State Winter Pentathlon. He raised the bar further at what was his second indoor competition of the current season.

The Indian cleared 2.25 metres in his third attempt and that was sufficient for the gold medal. He also attempted 2.29 metres thrice but was unsuccessful on all three occasions.

Although Tejaswin has steadily grown as an athlete and made the nation proud, there is still a long way to go for him if he wants to represent India at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. To do that, he must meet the Olympic qualification mark of 2.33 metres and it will take a lot of work.

What's next?

The talented track-and-field athlete will be looking to secure a berth for the quadrennial extravaganza as soon as possible. His move to the USA has helped him improve as a high jumper. All it needs now is one final push to meet the qualification criterion.