Tejaswin jumps to NCAA gold
NEW DELHI: India’s 19-year-old high jumper Tejaswin Shankar won the NCAA title on Friday, emulating his compatriots who have won in the US inter-university competition, usually the stepping stone to international success.
The promising Delhi athlete, who set a national record of 2.29m at Texas in April, cleared 2.24m to win the competition at Hayward Field in Eugene.
Shankar, on an athletic scholarship to Kansas State University and studying business administration, is the third Indian track and field athlete to win an NCAA title. Triple jumper Mohinder Singh Gill (1969-1971) and discus thrower Vikas Gowda (2006) won title in NCAA, considered the springboard for the US National Championships.
In tennis, Indian players have made a mark in NCAA. Somdev Devvarman won back to back NCAA titles in 2007-08 while Mahesh Bhupathi was a doubles champion representing University of Mississipi.
Shankar started at a modest 2.08m and by the time he progressed to 2.21m, there were only four jumpers left. He eventually won by clearing 2.24m in his third attempt. He was unsuccessful in his bid to clear 2.30m.
However, the youngster said he will not make an attempt to qualify for the Jakarta Asian Games in August-September as he needs a break.
After his NCAA triumph, he plans to take a short break. “I was really looking forward to this, so I’ll probably go to Disneyland. I’ll then get back to my summer training. I really want to put out a big mark next year ,” he was quoted as saying by the Kansas State media.