Tejaswin Shankar confident of breaking 8000-point barrier

Tejaswin Shankar aims to break 8000-point barrier in decathlon after facing long wait for high jump record.

With the wait to better his high jump national record getting longer and torturous, Tejaswin Shankar is now looking to the decathlon for comfort.

He is now aiming to become the first Indian to break the 8000-point barrier in the multi-eventer and feels he could get there soon.

“I really feel that I can get to 8000 before (high jump’s) 2.30m but I don’t want to jinx myself because I’ve been waiting for nearly eight years for that 2.30.

“That’s the whole reason I decided to do the combined events so I really want to get that first,” said Shankar, the Asian Games decathlon silver medallist, in a chat with The Hindu.

“The 2.29 (his high jump national record) is the worst number to ever be, I’d rather be on 2.28 than be at 2.29 and not be at 2.30.”

The 26-year-old broke the decathlon National record (new record 7666 points) at the last Asian Games and his performances in the recent National Federation Athletics Championships in Kochi indicate that he is getting closer to 8000.

“For me, the biggest positives in Kochi were the javelin and the 1500m, the last two events,” said Shankar, also decathlon’s Asian bronze medallist and the high jump bronze medallist at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.