---
title: "Tejaswin Shankar wins decathlon bronze Glasgow; first Indian CWG decathlon medal"
sdDatePublished: "2026-08-01T13:11:00Z"
source: "https://www.olympics.com/en/news/tejaswin-shankar-commonwealth-games-2026-decathlon-bronze-reaction"
topics:
  - name: "sport"
    identifier: "medtop:15000000"
locations:
  - "Los Angeles"
  - "Glasgow"
  - "Birmingham"
  - "Grenada"
  - "Canada"
  - "India"
---


Tejaswin Shankar wins decathlon bronze Glasgow; first Indian CWG decathlon medal

'Didn't know if my body could hold on' - Tejaswin Shankar after making Commonwealth Games history

'Didn't know if my body could hold on' - Tejaswin Shankar after making Commonwealth Games history

The Indian overcame a knee injury that forced him out of the high jump earlier in the week before scripting history as the country's first CWG decathlon medallist.

Two days after leaving the track in tears, Tejaswin Shankar stood on the Commonwealth Games 2026 podium at the Scotstoun Stadium in Glasgow with a historic bronze medal around his neck on Friday.

The Indian athlete overcame a flare-up of his long-standing patellar tendinitis to become the first Indian to win a Commonwealth Games medal in the decathlon .

"It feels pretty good," Tejaswin Shankar told Olympics.com . "Four years ago I won bronze in the high jump (at Birmingham 2022 ), and four years later to be able to win a medal in the decathlon... it's just a dream come true."

The significance of the achievement was heightened by the company he kept on the podium. Grenada's Lindon Victor became a three-time Commonwealth champion while Canada's Tokyo Olympic champion Damian Warner took silver.

"To share the podium with two legends of the sport... I've looked up to these guys. Being able to stand with them is just phenomenal. I don't have words," Tejaswin Shankar said.

The celebration came just 48 hours after one of the lowest moments of his career.

Tejaswin Shankar had entered the CWG intending to compete in both the high jump and the decathlon. However, his campaign appeared to unravel when his chronic knee injury flared up during his opening attempt in the high jump, forcing him to withdraw in visible pain.

"The bitterness started two days ago," he said. "I just took one jump and my knee gave up. I had severe pain."

With the decathlon beginning less than two days later, even taking the start remained uncertain.

"I'm extremely thankful to my team that they were able to get me back on track in two days," Tejaswin said. "When we started, all we thought was, 'Let's do one event at a time,' because I didn't know if my body could hold on for 10 events."

Over two gruelling days, Tejaswin amassed 7,976 points to secure the historic bronze despite competing with the same injury that had ended his high jump campaign.

The 27-year-old admitted there were still doubts right until the morning of the opening 100m race.

"I had doubts even till the morning of the 100," he revealed. "But once I got here and started warming up, I just can't be thankful enough to my team and everyone who helped me get game-ready."

The medal also marked another milestone in Tejaswin's transition from specialist high jumper to combined-events athlete.

Although this was only his 11th competitive decathlon, he believes he is on the right path, while acknowledging there is still significant room for improvement before the LA 2028 Olympic Games.

"For the first six events, I think on a good day I'm able to compete with anybody in the world," he said. "But when we get to discus, pole vault and javelin , that's where I have a lot of scope for improvement.

"Between now and LA 2028, the goal is to bring those events up to standard and hopefully be competitive there."

Asked to sum up his entire Glasgow experience in a single word, Tejaswin paused before choosing one that perfectly captured the rollercoaster of emotions from heartbreak to history.

Picture by 2026 Getty Images

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