Patiala: Nineteen-year-old Tejaswin Shankar set a new national record, bettering a benchmark set by him earlier, by jumping 2.28m in the men’s high jump category at the Run Adam Federation Cup in Patiala on Wednesday. He had earlier held the national record (2.26m) in the Junior National Championship held in 2016.
Earlier, Shankar had achieved the same mark at a collegiate event in the USA but this was a first in a competition organised by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI). En route to setting the new national record, the youngster also cleared the guideline of 2.26m set by the AFI for making the cut for the Commonwealth Games.
He began his jump at 2.10m and then gradually improved to reach 2.14m, 2.18m, 2.25m and then 2.28m in his very first attempt.
“I had jumped this height in the USA but it feels good to clear this height at a competition in India,” said Shankar, who is a first-year student of Kansas State University.
“I need to get more consistent. I hope I will clear the 2.31m at the Commonwealth Games,” he added further.
Siddharth Yadav, another athlete also delivered the best performance of his career as he cleared 2.25m to end with a silver.
“It is the best jump of my career. My previous best was 2.23m,” he said.
Shankar also had words of praise for the 25-year-old Yadav.
“It is great to see two Indians going to the Commonwealth Games. More than going to the Commonwealth Games, it is a better feeling to know that two of us are going. I never thought I would see two Indians clearing 2.25m. It always boosts you to be competing against another good jumper,” he said.
However, it wasn’t only Shankar and Yadav who made the cut for the Commonwealth Games. L Suriya, also made it to the Commonwealth Games squad after she clocked 32:23:96 seconds in the women’s 10000 metres. She crossed the qualification guideline of 32:30:00 set by the AFI.
Having won the 5000m race at the Federation Cup earlier this year, Suriya had never pushed herself hard too often.
“We had focused all her efforts for the 10000m because we felt that she had a better chance in the 10000m,” she said.
Pole vaulter P Surekha, of all the other athletes in the competition was the closest to cross the cutoff mark set by the AFI. Surekha, the meet record holder of 4.05m and a national record holder of 4.15m, crossed the 3.90m mark, falling just 10cm short of the Commonwealth Games qualification guideline of 4.00m. Nonetheless, she finished above Khyati Vakaria (3.80m) and Krishna Rachan (3.70m).