Archive · 7 Aug 2026
Tejaswin Shankar wins historic CWG decathlon bronze despite knee injury
Tejaswin Shankar is an athlete from India who does the decathlon, a competition with ten different events.
Before the big competition, his right knee started hurting a lot.
The pain was so bad that he had to stop doing the high jump and thought he could not compete.
Doctors and helpers worked very hard for two days to make his knee better, using special machines and therapy.
On the day of the decathlon, he was still in pain, but he competed anyway.
He did great and won a bronze medal, which is third place.
He is the first person from India to ever win a medal in the decathlon at the Commonwealth Games.
To celebrate, he did something funny — he ate some grass from the field, just like tennis star Novak Djokovic does.
He said it felt like a movie, and he was proud that he could figure things out even when facing tough problems.
Tejaswin Shankar became the first Indian to win a Commonwealth Games medal in the decathlon, taking bronze in Glasgow.
He competed despite tendinitis ('jumper's knee') in his right knee, which had earlier forced him to withdraw from the high jump.
Team doctor Dinshaw Pardiwala found no rupture but said the knee was severely inflamed and would cause pain.
Physio Mayur Thakkar and strength coach Wayne Lombard spent eight hours a day over two days preparing him, using hyperbaric oxygen and red-light therapy.
After the medal, he mimicked Novak Djokovic by plucking and chewing grass from the Scotstoun Stadium turf.
Olympic medallists Lindon Victor (gold) and Damian Warner (silver) were among the 12 competitors.
- Who
- Tejaswin Shankar, an Indian decathlete, with support from team doctor Dinshaw Pardiwala, physio Mayur Thakkar and coach Wayne Lombard.
- What
- Won a bronze medal in the men's decathlon, becoming the first Indian to win a Commonwealth Games decathlon medal despite a right knee injury.
- When
- The decathlon began on Thursday, July 30, 2026; his knee injury had flared up around three days earlier.
- Where
- Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow, Scotland, during the Commonwealth Games.
- Why
- He competed through severe pain from tendinitis and bounced back after intensive treatment, proving he can manage adversity at major competitions.
- Medal
- Bronze (men's decathlon)
- Event
- Commonwealth Games, Glasgow, Scotland
- Competition start date
- July 30, 2026
- Injury
- Tendinitis (jumper's knee) in the right knee
- Historic feat
- First Indian to win a Commonwealth Games decathlon medal
- Personal bests set
- Long jump 7.82m, discus 40.44m, javelin 53.12m
- Trial high jump clearance
- 2.15m
- Competitors
- 12, including gold medallist Lindon Victor and silver medallist Damian Warner