New Delhi: Tejaswin Shankar has earned himself a well-deserved break after becoming the first Indian decathlete to cross 8000 points at the Federation Cup in Ranchi. The 27-year-old scored 8057 points in ten disciplines across two gruelling days to become only the 10th Asian to breach the 8k mark.
Tejaswin is characteristically nonchalant in his assessment of his feat, but he's already looking forward to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. He's given himself two weeks to rest before starting his training for the Games, where he hopes to score over 8200 points and win a medal.
The Asian Games record belongs to Kazakhstan's Dmitriy Karpov, who scored 8,384 points in the 2006 edition. Tejaswin's key learning in scaling the barrier was understanding the need for speed, which he's been training for since moving back to Kansas State University in the US this January.
Tejaswin's wife Siddhi, a former sprinter, was on the sidelines, feverishly calculating the split timings for him to get to 8000 points. Needing 694 points from the final event, Tejaswin accrued 751 with a personal best (4:29.02) to comfortably go over the desired mark.
Tejaswin's focus is now on the Commonwealth Games, where he hopes to prove himself in tough international meets. He's confident that he can do it, but he knows that it won't be easy. The clock is ticking, and Tejaswin is ready to put in the hard work to achieve his goal.
