Tejaswin Shankar recounts struggle in historic CWG decathlon bronze

India's Tejaswin Shankar won bronze in the men's decathlon at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, becoming India's first-ever CWG decathlon medallist.

Shankar injured his knee during the warm-up for the men's high jump event, initially withdrew, then attempted a late comeback but failed his opening jump, casting doubt on his decathlon participation.

Shankar admitted in a social media post that during the competition he 'gave up' and questioned if his preparation had been for nothing, but recovered with help from Dr Wayne Lombard and his strength and conditioning team.

Despite being emotionally shattered, Shankar competed in the decathlon the next morning, citing 'one conversation, one treatment session, one event, one lap at a time' as his recovery approach.

Shankar surged to second place at the end of Day 1, thanks to a commanding performance in his signature high jump event.