Tejaswin Shankar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Shankar in 2022 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
Nickname | TJ |
| Born | 21 December 1998 New Delhi, India |
| Education | Master of Accountancy |
| Alma mater | |
| Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)[1] |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Track and field |
Event(s) | Decathlon, High jump |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personal bests | Decathlon: 7826 NR (2025) High jump: 2.29 m NR (2018), 2.28 m (i) NR (2018) |
Medal record | |
Tejaswin Shankar (born 21 December 1998) is an Indian track and field athlete, who competes in decathlon and formerly specialized in high jump. Shankar made history by winning India's first-ever high jump medal at the Commonwealth Games, clinching bronze at the 2022 edition. After switching to decathlon, he won a silver medal at the 2022 Asian Games and went on to claim a silver and a bronze medal at the Asian Championships in 2025 and 2023 respectively. He was also the NCAA Division I Champion in high jump in 2018 and 2022, making him one of the most successful Indian athletes in collegiate athletics.
Shankar was born on 21 December 1998 in Saket, New Delhi into a Tamil Brahmin family. He studied at the Sardar Patel Vidyalaya in New Delhi, where he played cricket until eighth grade before his physical education teacher suggested he switch to high jump. He soon started winning medals at inter-school athletics meets. His father Harishankar, a lawyer, died of blood cancer in 2014.[1]
Shankar received a four-year athletics scholarship to the Kansas State University in 2017 where he studied accounting and finance.[2] In what is considered an unconventional move for an active athlete, he briefly pursued a corporate career in the United States, working with Deloitte.[3] However, he eventually quit the corporate world to focus on being a "full-time athlete".
Shankar married former Indian sprinter Siddhi Hiray in a private ceremony in November 2024. The couple had been in a long-term relationship and are also business partners. In 2024, they co-founded King's Sports Group, an initiative aimed at helping talented Indian student-athletes secure sports scholarships and opportunities in the U.S. collegiate system.[4]
Career
Shankar won the gold medal at the 2015 Commonwealth Youth Games in Apia, setting a Games record of 2.14 metres. He won silver at the 2016 South Asian Games in Guwahati with a leap of 2.17 metres.[1] Due to a groin injury, he finished sixth at the Asian Junior Championships and missed the 2016 World Junior Championships.[5]
At the age of 17, Shankar rose to prominence when he broke Hari Shankar Roy's 12-year-old national record of 2.25 metres with a jump of 2.26 metres at the Junior National Championships in Coimbatore in November 2016.[6] He was the third best IAAF junior high jumper in the world that year.[7] He was bedridden for six months in 2017 with a slipped disc.[8]
In January 2018, Shankar broke Roy's indoor national record with a mark of 2.18 metres, and then bettered it by a centimetre the same month. In February, he further improved on his indoor record with a 2.28 metres leap at the Big 12 Indoor Athletics Championships in Ames.[9]
Shankar finished sixth at the 2018 Commonwealth Games during qualification for the games Shankar bettered his own national record by jumping 2.28 metres at the 22nd Federation Cup Indian Championships in Patiala in March 2018. It was the joint-best performance to qualify for the Commonwealth Games.[10][11] He further broke his national record by another centimeter representing K-State athletics, jumping 2.29m in April 2018 at the Texas tech invite.
Shankar, who was not initially selected in the 2022 Commonwealth Games contingent despite meeting the qualification standard, took the Athletics Federation of India to court and was later brought in as a replacement. He secured the bronze medal at the event in Birmingham with a jump of 2.22 metres; this was India's first ever high jump medal at the Commonwealth Games.[12]
He switched to the decathlon and won a Bronze at the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships in July. He then bettered the decathlon Indian National Record by 6 points in October 2023, to finish second at the 2022 Asian Games, earning a silver medal.
In February 2024, he won gold at the World Athletics indoor tour challenger, the high jump gala at Elmos 2024 in Belgium.[13]
In May 2025, Shankar won a silver medal in the decathlon event at the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships held in Gumi, South Korea.
