Tejaswin Shankar was once again the ultimate athlete and national decathlon record holder, and it is he who stole the show that is taking over the Commonwealth Games 2026 in Glasgow. In one of the most tough and demanding sports on the planet, Tejaswin dominated in Day 2 of the men's decathlon and won the 100m hurdles title with 14.41 seconds.
The journey of a trailblazer: From High Jump Specialist to Decathlon National Record Holder. To understand Tejaswin’s performances in Glasgow we need to look back at how he has evolved as an elite athlete. Tejaswin, who first burst into the world as a high jump specialist, defied all of the national barriers by setting a personal record of 2.29m which is still the best in Indian sports. Going from a single discipline jumper to a decathlete is one of the most inspiring stories in the history of Indian sport today. His fast, powerful and explosive ability was what he was able to show when he switched from a single-event competition to multi-event that required a lot of work and the time to train in 10 different disciplines (sprints, jumps, throws and middle distance running).
His gamble paid off spectacularly when he became the first Indian athlete to break the 8,000-point barrier in the decathlon and his name was etched into the record books forever. Before he got to Glasgow to compete at the Commonwealth Games of 2026, Tejaswin won the heptathlon title at the Asian Indoor Championships and proved his skill and mental toughness for multiple-event championships all over the continent.
Grit and Glory at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. Tejaswin’s journey at the Commonwealth Games 2026 has been one of roller-coastering emotions, and that has shown remarkable resilience. He came to the multi-event scene after a bit of physical discomfort, including knee problems which forced him to withdraw from the separate high jump final, and really showed serious competitive nature. A moment in the decathlon was all he could do on Day 1, especially in the long jump, where he got a personal record of 7.82 meters. And true to his roots he also dominated the high jump with 2.15 meters and took his way up the field to second place overall on the first day, just a hair’s breadth behind Canadian Olympic champion Damian Warner.
In the track, Tejaswin was going all round 100m hurdles in a strong way with 14.41 seconds in the distance and the best hurdlers in the world (Grenada’s Lindon Victor is the current Commonwealth champion). Tejaswin Shankar has established himself as one of the world’s greatest athletes with his strong times, technical excellence and his ability to always do what he needs to do. His inspiring run in Glasgow is one of his most impressive performances and shows that he is not just a specialist jumper and that he is an indomitable decathlete who transforms into a decathlete who can fly high with the Indian tricolor in the international stage.
