CHENNAI: 'Yeh dil Maange more' (The heart wants more in Hindi) is what Tejaswin Shankar responded when asked about why he took to the starting point for the 100m event — the first of ten events in men’s decathlon at the Commonwealth Games.
During the men’s high jump final on Monday, Shankar was seen tearing up alone in a corner as a recurring knee problem came back to haunt him. He had to withdraw from participating in the final. He even got emotional trying to explain his injury to reporters at the mixed zone.
But three gruelling days later, Shankar stood on the podium with a wide grin, collecting yet another bronze in the CWG, as he finished third overall in the men’s decathlon. He became the first Indian to collect two medals across different track and field events.
It marked an emotional rollercoaster of a week for the 27-year-old national record holder in decathlon. It began with his contemplation of giving up. “When I was standing there crying (after Monday's high jump final), those were tears of giving up. I was thinking one year is gone, the Commonwealth Games are gone, maybe the Asian Games are gone too. I went down a very negative spiral," he said.
But to score 7976 points — 24 points shy of 8000 with injury and to record personal and season best marks in long jump and javelin throw is nothing short of incredible. "I have seen in two days how emotions can change. Today I am standing with a medal around my neck. I have no words. It's just unreal."
While all medical interventions by the Dinshaw Pardiwalla - led Indian medical team reportedly between Monday and Thursday helped him get fit on time, one man’s advice got him through all of 10 events. M Sreeshankar. The same Sreeshankar, who was diagnosed with jumper’s knee and has struggled through recovery, could not have given better advice. Rather than thinking about surviving 10 gruelling events over two days, Sreeshankar urged him to take it one event at a time. "He told me, 'Just take one event at a time. Show up, warm up for the 100 metres. If it doesn't feel right, stop.'" "I didn't let my mind get into what would happen in the 1,500 metres or the shot put or any other event," Shankar recounted.
But this medal did not come just out of heart and ambition. The 27-year-old worked on being psychologically prepared for anything. Sometimes in decathlon, athletes could be the last ones to throw the discus or javelin in the 12, and then rush to the track events – the 400m or the 110 metre hurdles events. He explained how he tries to switch from field to track after his NR performance in May’s Federation Cup in Ranchi. “Usually in practice, after my high jump sessions, I am trying to pair that with a 400m. In competition, I will always be in a position where after I have a big high jump (and) I have to get ready psychologically to run 400m within 30 minutes. Because I will always be, 99% of the time, the last guy taking the jump. And then I will be the next person running the 400 in a decathlon.
“So, I have to psychologically prepare for that. So, in practice sessions, whenever I have a high jump session, I start working specifically on the 400m so that I get trained to be able to handle that in a competition setting,” he said.
The biggest takeaway for him in Glasgow is to take one at a time “(one more thing was) focusing on one session, one hour, and one step at a time, and see where it led,” he said.
This bronze for the decathlete will act as a big confidence booster. He will settle for no less than gold in the Asian Games in Japan.
