Indian star athlete Tejaswin Shankar overcame a difficult challenge from former world champion Donald Thomas of the Bahamas who is also a Commonwealth Games gold medallist to win the top position in the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston on Sunday.
The 24-year-old Delhi-born high-jumper leapt 2.26 metres as he pushed the 2007 World Championships and 2010 CWG gold medallist, 38-year-old Thomas, to the second position. Thomas had a best jump of 2.
23 metres.
Shankar shared a video of his gold-winning leap on the social media and expressed his happiness through a tweet which read, "Great start to the new year! Excited to be able to compete with the top guys; season opener."
During the game, Shankar received encouragement from the crowd. It is worth noting that he had bagged the bronze medal in the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
Following were his first four attempts in the Grand Prix:
- First attempt - 2.14
- Second attempt - 2.19
- Third attempt - 2.23
- Fourth attempt - 2.26
Shankar, who won his second NCAA title for Kansas State last year and was taking part in his first competition since finishing college, took three attempts at a would-be personal best of 2.30 metres but failed.
Shankar has a personal best outdoor jump of 2.29 metres, a national record, while his best leap in an indoor meet is 2.28 metres, both achieved in 2018 in Lubbock and Ames respectively. Darryl Sullivan of the USA notched up his season-best leap of 2.19m to finish third in the four-man field.
(Inputs from PTI)
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