INTRODUCTION
Tejaswin Shankar (born 21 December 1998) is an Indian athlete who competes in the high jump event. He holds the high jump national record of 2.29 meters set in April 2018.
Shankar was born on 21 December 1998 in Delhi into a Tamil family. He hails from Saket in South Delhi. He studied at the Sardar Patel Vidyalaya in New Delhi, where he played cricket until eighth grade before his physical education teacher suggested he switch to the high jump. He soon started winning medals at inter-school athletics meets. His father Harishankar, a lawyer, died of blood cancer in 2014.
Shankar received a four-year athletics scholarship to Kansas State University in 2017 where he studies business administration.
CAREER
Shankar won the gold medal at the 2015 Commonwealth Youth Games in Apia, setting a Games record of 2.14 meters. He won silver at the 2016 South Asian Games in Guwahati with a leap of 2.17 meters. Due to a groin injury, he finished sixth at the Asian Junior Championships and missed the 2016 World Junior Championships.
At the age of 17, Shankar rose to prominence when he broke Hari Shankar Roy's 12-year-old national record of 2.25 meters with a jump of 2.26 meters at the Junior National Championships in Coimbatore in November 2016. He was the third-best IAAF junior high jumper in the world that year. He was bedridden for six months in 2017 with a slipped disc.
In January 2018, Shankar broke Roy's indoor national record with a mark of 2.18 meters, and then bettered it by a centimeter the same month. In February, he further improved on his indoor record with a 2.28-meter leap at the Big 12 Indoor Athletics Championships in Ames.
Shankar finished sixth at the 2018 Commonwealth Games during qualification for the games Shankar bettered his national record by jumping 2.28 meters at the 22nd Federation Cup Indian Championships in Patiala in March 2018. It was the joint-best performance to qualify for the Commonwealth Games. He further broke his national record by another centimeter representing K-State athletics, jumping 2.29m in April 2018 at the Texas tech invite.
The Athletics Federation of India on Wednesday told the Delhi High Court that high jumper Tejaswin Shankar’s name will be included and forwarded amongst the list of athletes to be part of the Indian contingent for the upcoming Commonwealth Games.
Shankar last month approached the court seeking a direction to not disqualify him from participating at the CWG-2022 for non-attendance at the Interstate Championship. He told the court that he may be allowed to participate based on having met the qualifying standard at the NCAA Championship in the US.
A counsel representing the AFI Wednesday told the court sprinter Arokia Rajiv, who was an athlete enlisted as part of the 4x400m Relay Team, has come to be disqualified in trials which were held and as a result, a vacancy has occurred on which Shankar’s name will be sent.
Justice Yashwant Varma in the order said, “The statement so made is recorded and accepted. Let AFI consequently and forthwith transmit all particulars to Indian Olympic Association [IOA] which may take further consequential steps. The Court expects both AFI and IOA to proceed further with due dispatch bearing in mind the timelines prescribed.”
The court last month had asked the selection committee to reconsider Shankar’s case on the merits of his jump, following which it had been told that all other athletes who had achieved qualification standards for CWG could be selected if the AFI quota for participation in the Commonwealth Games is increased by the Indian Olympic Association. IOA on Monday told the court that Commonwealth Games Federation has been duly requested to increase the CGA India quota to permit the inclusion of six additional names.
Justice Varma on Tuesday had directed the AFI to revisit the issues which arise in the case and listed the matter for hearing on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, the court said that issues like the question of selections being made by the standards prescribed by AFI or the CWG, the right of athletes to train or compete overseas at the time of trials being conducted in India, and the procedure for exemption would merit further consideration, to prevent recurring of the disputes like in Shankar’s case.
The court said that issues that merit consideration will be outlined on the next date of hearing on August 25. “The Court also leaves it open to the AFI as well as IOA to file any further affidavits that they may deem necessary,” it said.
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