From Injury Doubt to Historic Bronze: Tejaswin Shankar's Remarkable CWG Story

Two days before the decathlon began, Tejaswin Shankar wasn't thinking about medals.

He wasn't even sure he would compete. A sudden flare-up in his leg had left India's most versatile track-and-field athlete wondering whether months of preparation were about to end before the first event had even begun.

Forty-eight hours later, Shankar stood on the Commonwealth Games podium.

With 7,976 points, Shankar won bronze in Glasgow, becoming the first Indian ever to win a Commonwealth Games medal in the decathlon—one of athletics' toughest events, where competitors battle through ten disciplines over two exhausting days.

The medal was historic. The journey to it was even more remarkable. "It feels good not to be returning empty-handed," Shankar said after the event.

Then he revealed just how close he had come to missing it altogether. "If we look back to two days before the decathlon, I wasn't even in a position to compete because of a sudden flare-up in my leg. I never expected to achieve the result I did today."

Instead of worrying about ten events spread over two days, he made a simple promise to himself. Forget the medal. Forget the points. Just survive the next moment. "I learned to take it one day at a time—one session, one hour and one step at a time," he said.

That mindset became his greatest weapon. The 100 metres became just another race. The long jump became just another jump. The shot put became just another throw. "I stayed in the moment," he said. "It was just about that one throw, one jump, one event."

By the time the decathlon reached its final discipline—the 1,500 metres—history was within touching distance. Shankar dug deep one final time, clocking 4:36.19, holding off a late charge from an English rival to secure the bronze medal and etch his name into Indian athletics history. Canada's Damian Warner took silver, while Grenada's Lindon Victor claimed gold.

For Shankar, though, the biggest victory had come long before the podium ceremony. It came the moment he decided that, despite the pain in his leg, he would step onto the track and give himself a chance. Sometimes, that's where history begins.

(With inputs from ANI)