Tejaswin Shankar breaks national senior record in high jump

Tejaswin Shankar breaks national senior record in high jump

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Delhi schoolboy Tejaswin Shankar set a new national senior mark in high jump by clearing 2.26m to win gold at the 32nd National Junior Athletics Championships in Coimbatore. The previous record of 2.25m set by Hari Shankar Roy had stood for a dozen years.

Shankar cleared 2.06m, 2.12m, 2.18m and 2.21m in his early attempts and set the new record with his next. "I did not expect the record here. I have no idea what happened to me. It went like a fairy-tale," he said.

Shankar had won gold at the 2015 Commonwealth Youth Games but an injury at the 2016 Asian Junior Championships in Vietnam resulted in the 17-year-old missing the World Junior Championships in Poland.

After a four-month injury lay-off  he returned to competition at the National Open Athletics Championships in Lucknow, where he achieved a personal best 2.22m.

“At the Lucknow meet I had attempted 2.26 metres but could not clear the bar. But registering a jump of 2.22me after a four-month injury break gave me the confidence that I could break the national record soon. The weight-training and sprinting during the (injury) break had helped me become a stronger jumper,” Shankar said.

 “I knew I was within touching distance of the record, so if I didn’t break it now, I would have gone into a break as this is the end of the season. I missed the World Junior championships because of an injury and though I am disappointed about that, breaking the national record has given me joy.”

An avid cricket follower, 6’4” tall Shankar is also a fast bowler and took to high jump at the behest of his school PT master Sunil Kumar.

 “I still enjoy fast bowling so I will be participating at school-level tournaments. I don’t know how quick I am but I am sure I will be quicker than before because of the strength training I have done. Let’s see how the batsmen perform when I bowl,” he said.

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