A last minute addition to the Indian athletics team, Tejaswin Shankar on Wednesday became the first Indian to win a men's high jump medal in the Commonwealth Games as he clinched a bronze in the final.
The national record holder cleared 2.22m to finish third on countback. Donald Thomas of Bahamas and England's Joel Clarke-Khan also cleared 2.22m but they needed more than one attempt to do it while Shankar was successful in single try.
In women's shot put final, Manpreet Kaur finished 12th and last with a disappointing best throw of 15.69m.
India's Manpreet Kaur competes in the women's shot put final during the 2022 CWG.
(Photo: PTI)
The 23-year-old Shankar could not soar over 2.25m in two attempts. He then went for 2.28m in his third and final attempt in a bid to win a silver but failed.
Before Shankar, the best position an Indian had achieved in men's high jump in CWG was by Bhim Singh who cleared 2.06m in the 1970 edition in Edinburgh.
"The medal means the world to me. Five days ago I was not even sure whether I would be here or not. Today to go home with some hardware, it's just people's good wishes, my family's support by mother's support, she was awake the whole night watching me, she's been on it for the last one, one and half month. It's been a tough journey for us as a family but in the end everybody came together and made it happen," said Tejaswin after winning the bronze.
"I am thankful to everybody including the federation, the IOA, and everybody who made it happen at the last moment, to put me in this position. I am not among those people who make excuses for not being here and just because I am here, I want to give my best performance," said Tejaswin.
Shankar had finished sixth in the 2018 Gold Coast edition with a best jump of 2.24m.
He, who was added in the Indian athletics squad on the orders of Delhi High Court, has a season's best of 2.27m and personal best of 2.29m.
Hamish Kerr of New Zealand won the gold while Australia's Brandon Starc clinched the silver. Both cleared 2.25m but could not soar over 2.28m but the Kiwi won the gold on count back.
"I've been seeing these guys (Hamish Kerr and Brandon Starc) on TV all the time so just to share the podium with them is spectacular. This is my first feather in my cap so I just want things to move forward from here," he added.
On July 22, Shankar was cleared to compete at the Commonwealth Games after the organisers accepted his entry on the request of Indian Olympic Association (IOA), ending a month-long drama surrounding his participation.
The organisers had initially rejected Shankar's late entry but the IOA later got confirmation from the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) and Birmingham CWG organisers about acceptance of his entry after a Delegate Registration Meeting (DRM).
Shankar had petitioned the Delhi High Court after he was not selected for the CWG despite achieving the qualifying standard set by the AFI.
The national federation later told the Delhi HC that Shankar has been included in the Indian athletics team in place of 4x400m relay team member Arokia Rajiv, who was named in the original squad.
Initially, the AFI had requested the IOA to increase its quota to accommodate more athletes. The IOA, in turn, had requested the CWG organisers in this regard.
Shankar had filed a petition at the Delhi High Court challenging the decision of the AFI to exclude him from the team, contending that he reached the qualification guidelines of the AFI by jumping 2.27m at the NCAA Championships in USA, where he is studying.
(With inputs from PTI and IANS)
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