Tejaswin Shankar clinches victory at Belgium's season-opening athletics meet
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Tejaswin Shankar, the national record holder in high jump, secured the top spot at the International High Jump Gala Elmos 2024 athletics meet held in Heist-op-den-Berg, Belgium.
The event, part of the World Athletics Indoor Tour Challenger, marked Shankar's first competition since October of the previous year. With an impressive leap of 2.23 metres, he outperformed Greece's Antonios Merlos, who achieved a height of 2.20 metres.
Despite his victory, the 25-year-old athlete, who holds national records in both men's high jump and decathlon, fell short of surpassing his personal best of 2.29 metres.
Shankar has been actively participating in decathlon events as well, securing bronze and silver medals in the discipline at the Asian Championships and Asian Games in the past year.
While Shankar is aiming for a spot in the Paris Olympics, he must achieve a qualifying standard of 2.33 metres. Jesse Sandesh, the other Indian contender in the event, concluded with a jump of 2.09 metres, securing a joint-10th position.
Tejaswin Shankar is set to showcase his skills at the Hvezdy v Nehvizdech athletics meet in Nehvizdy, Czech Republic on February 20.
