Tejaswin Shankar got his collegiate career off to a near perfect start as he matched the Indian indoor athletic record in the high jump in his first competition for the Kansas State Wildcats.
Shankar who became the first Indian athlete in half a century to receive a track and field scholarship to a college in the USA, cleared 2.18 m to win a gold medal at the KU-KSU-WSU (Kansas University - Kansas State University - Wichita State University) Triangular Trophy on Saturday. The competition was the first time Shankar, who had joined Kansas State University in August last year, was competing in the high jump for his university.
Shankar, who already holds the Indian outdoor record of 2.26m, set at the Junior national championships in 2016, matched Hari Shankar Roy's effort set 11 years ago at the 2007 Asian Indoor Championships. After matching Roy's mark, Shankar nearly made the national record his own. He made three attempts at 2.21m but nearly succeeded in his final attempt with his ankle just nicking the bar on the descent.
"2.21m was there," said Shankar who is studying business administration. Despite the narrow miss, Shankar said he was glad on the outcome of his first high jump competition in the USA. "I'm happy. This is my first season for K State. There are competitions every other week from now so it will be physically taxing for me."
Kansas State University coach Cliff Rovelto was also satisfied with Shankar's performance. "We had some individuals with lifetime personal bests. At this point of the year, that is pretty good, so there were some really good things from today," he was quoted as saying.