His own campaign derailed by a recurring knee problem, Tejaswin Shankar fought through tears and discomfort to be there for compatriot Sarvesh Kushare, offering him technical advice that proved crucial in securing his men’s high jump silver in the Commonwealth Games here.
Tejaswin had claimed the high jump bronze in the 2022 Birmingham CWG, which was a first ever for India in the sport. On Monday, the 27-year-old felt a sharp pain in his knee during his warm-up and could not continue in the competition after clearing his first attempt.
Despite his own heartbreak, he stayed back at the venue and switched roles to help Kushare, who eventually fetched a silver medal, bettering Tejaswin’s 2022 performance.
Kushare credited Tejaswin’s technical advice for helping him regain his rhythm after a shaky start.
“I wanted to clear the height in my first attempt itself, but during 2.25m my rhythm was affected and my stride became shorter. Then TJ told me to move forward in my run-up, and that helped,” Kushare said.
A visibly emotional Tejaswin struggled to compose himself while speaking to reporters after the event.
“I felt a shooting pain in my knee. It happened during my warm-up. It’s nothing new; I have always had tendonitis in my knees,” he said.
“I don’t think there is any high jumper who doesn’t have it. That’s why it’s called jumper’s knee. Everyone manages it, and so do I,” he said.
Hope to be back for Decathlon
Tejaswin said the timing of the injury was particularly cruel as he had arrived in Glasgow believing he was capable of winning another Commonwealth Games medal.
“But it’s one of those days. You want just one day in a year when you don’t have that pain, but it came on that day only. It really stings. In these conditions, I was really confident I could jump for a win, jump for a medal. I really knew I could win a medal,” he rued.
“But to not even get through the first height, it stings because I was in really great shape.”
Explaining the injury, he added: “It’s just overuse of the patellar tendon. There is nothing spectacular about it. It just flared up today and ruined my entire competition.”
Tejaswin, however, remains hopeful of recovering in time for the decathlon, which begins on Thursday.
“I will come back in two days. We still have two days. I’ll give my best over the next two days and try and fix this. I will obviously start. I’m not here on vacation.
“The patellar tendon is used in high jump and long jump, so if I’m somehow able to get by those two events, I’m still confident the other events will be fine.
Tejaswin is the national record holder in decathlon and has won an Asian Games silver besides two Asian Championships medals in the gruelling discipline.
He is also the first Indian to breach in the 8000 points mark in the 10-event competition which is considered the most demanding in athletics.
In tears after his own injury-forced exit, Tejaswin stays to help Kushare
