High jumper Tejaswin Shankar targets Asian glory in decathlon

New Delhi: High jumper Tejaswin Shankar or decathlete Tejaswin Shankar? What can the 24-year-old, who won a bronze in high jump at the CWG last year, be referred to as now? Being experimental, wearing different hats comes naturally to Tejaswin a.k.a TJ -as he is called by his fellow Indian athletes.

Just nine months back, Tejaswin had brought glory to the country in Birmingham. After the medal ceremony, he had said he is planning to venture into decathlon. Most journalists present had thought it to be outlandish. High jump is different, and decathlon is different - requiring a contrasting set of skills, physicality etc.

But Tejaswin has done it, contrary to what all the naysa- yers had to say. And, in his se- cond decathlon competition, he missed the national record by just 10 points, racking up 7,648 points to win silver at the Jim Click Shootout in Arizo na, US. Bharatinder Singh's record of 7,658 points has sto-od since 2011, but it's a matter of time that it will be broken. "Main apne baat ka pakka hoon na (Ain't I true to my words)," Tejaswin says during an interaction with TOI from Kansas City.

But decathlon is a lot tougher. It tests an athlete's all- round ability. One needs spe- ed, agility, power, endurance to be a successful decathlete. The 10 events are divided over two days. The 100m, long jump, high jump, shot put and 400m are contested on the first day. The 110m hurdles, discus throw, pole vault, javelin and 1500m are the events on the second day.

"Decathlon is like a team sport. The first five events suit me more. I am strong, fast, athletic. There is a saying in the decathlon fraternity: 'Day 1 is for the athlete and Day 2 is for the decathlete'. The actual test starts on the second day. They are all technical events. After the hurdles, there is discus throw, pole vault and javelin. That's where I start losing points."