Tejaswin Shankar wins historic bronze medal, India’s first Commonwealth Games Decathlon glory at Glasgow 2026

Tejaswin Shankar scripted history for Indian athletics at the Commonwealth Games 2026 in Glasgow. The 27-year-old from Delhi claimed bronze in the men’s decathlon with a total of 7,976 points, becoming the first Indian ever to win a Commonwealth Games medal in the demanding 10-event discipline.

Grenada’s Lindon Victor took the gold with a season-best 8,096 points, completing a hat-trick of Commonwealth titles. Canada’s Damian Warner, the Tokyo Olympic champion, finished second with 8,036 points to secure silver. Shankar held off strong challenges to lock in the bronze.

The achievement carries extra weight because Shankar competed through a painful patellar tendon injury that had forced him to pull out of the individual high jump earlier in the week. What followed was a display of pure grit across two long days at Scotstoun Stadium.

Battling injury to stay in the hunt

Tejaswin Shankar began Day 1 of the decathlon on Thursday already dealing with discomfort. He clocked 10.96 seconds in the 100m for 870 points, then produced a personal-best long jump of 7.82 metres that earned a massive 1,015 points. A solid 2.15m clearance in the high jump (944 points) kept him firmly in the medal conversation. He finished the opening day in second place with 4,339 points, just 14 points behind Canada’s Damian Warner.

“After the 300m mark it felt like a bear had latched onto my back,” Shankar later said of the tough 400m, which he still completed in 49.51 seconds for 837 points. That honesty captured the physical toll he was under, yet he refused to stop.

Consistent across all ten events

On Day 2, Tejaswin Shankar stayed composed. He ran 14.41 seconds in the 110m hurdles (922 points) and threw a personal-best 40.44 metres in the discus (674 points). The pole vault brought 4.30 metres and 702 points. A season-best javelin throw of 53.12 metres added 635 points and moved him into the bronze-medal position heading into the final event.

In the concluding 1500m, run in the early hours of Saturday, Shankar clocked 4:36.19 for 704 points. His final tally of 7,976 points secured third place and India’s first-ever Commonwealth Games medal in the decathlon.

Key event scores that defined his bronze:

Long jump: 7.82m (PB) – 1,015 points

High jump: 2.15m – 944 points

110m hurdles: 14.41s – 922 points

Discus: 40.44m (PB) – 674 points

Javelin: 53.12m – 635 points

A landmark moment for Indian multi-eventers

Tejaswin Shankar already held the national record of 8,057 points and had won silver at the Asian Games and Asian Championships. This bronze adds a new chapter. It also highlights the growing depth in Indian multi-event athletics after years when the decathlon remained largely unexplored at the Commonwealth level.