S.Kannan in Hangzhou
Speed, skill, endurance and versatility, if that be an amalgam for an athlete in the track and field arena, you get to see the Alpha Male. The discipline is called decathlon, which means competing in 10 different events over two days, usually. Not many would like to attempt this, really, since the way a champion is decided on points awarded is a complex matrix.
There have been legends like Daley Thompson and Kevin Mayer who embraced decathlon with amazing feel and felicity. To have been “The King” over and over again at multiple editions of the Olympics is a tribute to what Daley and Kevin showed to athletics buffs.
India’s own maverick, Tejaswin Shankar, also stepped out to achieve glory, or, at least, test himself in a tricky event at the Asian Games called decathlon. The naysayers predicted Tejaswin was making a mistake, as all along he has been a quality high jumper. In the end, on Tuesday night in Hangzhou, Tejaswin was on the podium with a silver medal hanging around his neck. This was a phenomenal feat, indeed.
Rewind. Pause. The ignoramuses said Tejaswin is the best in India in high jump. Few would have known, he has been an “all-rounder” in every track and field event since his school days in Sardar Patel Vidyalaya in New Delhi. This writer is privileged to have watched the kid, from a youngster to teens, rock the school crowd. His teachers had declared, he was destined for greatness in sport. And for other wannabe athletes in his Vidyalaya, he was “Tejaswin bhaiyya.” This is the same institution which produced cricketer Ajay Jadeja.
How true they were, for none other than a teacher can spot talent in a child and realise what his/her passion is. When Tejaswin finished school (Class 12) in 2017 and flew to the US, it was a big decision. Many athletes before him from India had taken that route as well, only to chuck sport and chase the dream of a Green Card or a H1B visa!
Tejaswin had to be different. Life was not easy for him, having lost his father at a young age. Today, if he says he loves his family and credits them for success, he is speaking the truth. Back again, rewind to school days, Tejaswin was a show-stopper in school track and field events. He was the cynosure during the sports week, a bit like that hero in a Bollywood film who reduced others to “side roles.”
Well, if school was a sign of his talent, Tejaswin made the right decision to move to the USA. College meant academics plus track and field. He excelled in sport, became the NCAA champion, yet in academics, his “grades” initially were not great. Perhaps, being admonished by a teacher/lecturer in college he needed to do well in all fields, Tejaswin became more serious.
He is well educated, landed a white collar job in the East Coast. Sports was in his heart, rather flows in his veins. Rather, he has sports cells in his blood, which has seen him plumb the depths in track and field at any cost.
Tejaswin has made news for the wrong reasons as well. No, nothing to do with discipline but just that his relationship with the Athletics Federation of India was blow-hot-blow-cold.
When he was not selected for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham last year, he had to move the Delhi High Court. The court did rule in favour of the athlete. But then, there is no bad blood between him and the AFI any longer.
The biggest surprise came when Tejaswin announced that the 2024 Paris Olympics would be his last fling with high jump. Had he peaked, had he reached a stage where could no longer raise the bar. Maybe, yes.
But then, if that was the case, he would have chucked sport, flown back to the USA. The dude has been around in India for the last six months, a burning desire to excel in the Asian Games his goal. One event is fine, to take on nine more is madness, said some. Well, why do guys forget even in school, he wanted to rock in every event.
Decathlon by nature is hard. Ask those who attempt an assault on the Mount Everest, it is madness. Maybe, in Tejaswin’s case, there is method in madness. He has to do the 100 metres, long jump, , shot put, high jump, 400 metres on Day 1. Day 2 is the 110m hurdles, discus throw, pole vault, javelin throw and finally the 1500 metres!
Doesn’t that sound exciting! Yes it does for Tejaswin, whose attempts in Hangzhou provided more than a glimpse of his hunger, his greed, his thirst. It’s simple, he wants to do well not in just one event but be The Boss in a combination of events which tests speed strength, skills and versatility. It’s like pushing the body to do everything possible, get involved in all dynamics and leave a mark.
There will be some events where Tejaswin does not have the edge but that cannot be an impeding factor. If you study the chequered careers of Daley Thompson and Kevin Mayer, in terms of performance, each had his strengths. In a few, they were not the best. Yet, if you can understand the complex system of the points scoring system and win in it, the joy for a decathlete is unlimited.
Has Tejaswin done the right thing by making a tectonic shift? He knows best what he wants to achieve. If he says Paris is his last fling with the high jump, then nearing 25 years of age, he knows what all his body can cope with. After all, an athlete has to listen to his body.
From a distance, the high jump or javelin events may look snappy and fast. It’s all over in a few hours. In this, decathlon, ten events and having to slog, the challenges are different. It has to do with mindset and being dead sure pushing the human body parts in every possible way to win points becomes an obsession.
What if attempting excellence in decathlon turned out to be a wrong decision? It’s a bit like telling the mountaineer, are you sure you want to do Mount Everest?
Let Tejaswsin Shankar decide what he wants to do. He has the freedom to choose. The Indian boy’s expressions in the track and field arena capture his romance, his dalliance. He is wooing decathlon. Let’s watch, please. Can silver turn into gold in the next Asian Games?
You never know.
Speed, skill, endurance and versatility – if that be an amalgam for an athlete in the track and field arena, you get to see the Alpha Male. The discipline is called decathlon, which means competing in 10 different events over two days. Not many would like to attempt this, really, since the way a champion is decided on points awarded is a complex matrix.
There have been legends like Daley Thompson and Kevin Mayer who embraced decathlon with amazing feel and felicity. To have been “The King” over and over again at multiple editions of the Olympics is a tribute to what they showed to athletics buffs.
India’s own maverick, Tejaswin Shankar, also stepped out to achieve glory, or, at least, test himself in a tricky event at the Asian Games. The naysayers predicted Tejaswin was making a mistake, as all along he has been a quality high jumper. In the end, on Tuesday night in Hangzhou, Tejaswin was on the podium with a silver medal hanging around his neck. This was a phenomenal feat.
Rewind. Pause. The ignoramuses said Tejaswin is the best in India in high jump. Few would have known that he has been an all-rounder in most track and field events since his school days at Sardar Patel Vidyalaya in New Delhi. This writer is privileged to have watched him, from a youngster to teenager, rock school crowds. His teachers had declared that he was destined for greatness in sport. And for other wannabe athletes in his Vidyalaya, he was Tejaswin bhaiyya. This is the same institution which produced Ajay Jadeja, the cricketer.
How right they were, for none other than a teacher can spot talent in a child and realise what his or her passion is. When Tejaswin finished school (Class 12) in 2017 and flew to the US, it was a big decision. Many athletes before him from India had taken that route as well, only to chuck sport and chase the dream of a Green Card or a H-1B visa!
Tejaswin had to be different. Life was not easy for him, having lost his father at a young age. Today, if he says he loves his family and credits them for success, he is speaking the truth. To rewind to his school days, Tejaswin was a show-stopper in school track-and-field events. He was the cynosure during the sports week, a bit like that hero in a Bollywood film who reduced others to side roles”.
Well, if school was a sign of his talent, Tejaswin made the right decision to move to the USA. College meant academics plus track and field. He excelled in sport, and became the NCAA champion. Yet, in academics, his grades initially were not great. Perhaps, after being admonished by a professor in college that he needed to do well in all fields, Tejaswin became more serious.
He is well-educated, and landed a white-collar job on the East Coast. Sports was in his heart, or rather it flowed in his veins.
Tejaswin made news for the wrong reasons as well. No, nothing to do with discipline, but because his relationship with the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) was blow-hot-blow-cold.
When he was not selected for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham last year, he had to move the Delhi High Court. The court did rule in favour of the athlete. But then, there is no bad blood between him and the AFI any longer.
The biggest surprise came when Tejaswin announced that the 2024 Paris Olympics would be his last fling with the high jump. Had he peaked, had he reached a stage where could no longer raise the bar? Maybe.
But then, if that was the case, he would have given up sport and flown back to the USA. He has been around in India for the last six months, with a burning desire to excel in the Asian Games as his goal. One event is fine, to take on nine more is madness, said some.
Decathlon, by nature, is hard. Ask those who attempt to climb Mount Everest. Maybe, in Tejaswin’s case, there is method in that madness. He has to do the 100 metres, long jump, shot put, high jump and the 400 metres on Day 1. Day 2 is the 110m hurdles, discus throw, pole vault, javelin throw and finally the 1500 metres!
Doesn’t that sound exciting? Yes, it does for Tejaswin, whose attempts in Hangzhou provided more than a glimpse of his hunger, his greed, his thirst. It’s simple, he wants to do well not in one event but be The Boss in a combination of events which test speed, strength, skills and versatility. It’s like pushing the body to do everything possible, get involved in all dynamics and leave a mark.
There will be some events where Tejaswin does not have the edge, but that cannot be an impeding factor. If you study the chequered careers of Daley Thompson and Kevin Mayer, in terms of performance, each had his strengths. In a few events, they were not the best. Yet, if you can understand the complex points-scoring system and win, the joy for a decathlete is unlimited.
Has Tejaswin done the right thing by making a tectonic shift? He knows best what he wants to achieve. If he says Paris is his last high jump competition, then nearing 25 years of age, he knows what all his body can cope with. After all, an athlete has to listen to his body.
From a distance, the high jump or javelin events may look snappy and fast. It’s all over in a few hours. In the decathlon, ten events and having to slog, the challenge is very different. It has to do with mindset, and pushing the human body in every possible way to win points becomes an obsession.
What if attempting excellence in the decathlon turned out to be a wrong decision? It’s a bit like telling the mountaineer – are you sure you want to do Mount Everest?
Let Tejaswsin Shankar decide what he wants to do. He has the freedom to choose. The Indian boy’s expressions in the track and field arena captured his romance, his dalliance. He is wooing the decathlon. Let’s watch, please. Could silver turn into gold at the next Asian Games?
You never know.