Asian Games 2026: Tejaswin Shankar slips to third in decathlon
Tejaswin Shankar slips to third place in the decathlon after the discus throw at the Asian Games. Can he fight back for a medal?
Indian multi-event star Tejaswin Shankar faced a setback during the ongoing Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, as he fell from the top spot to third place following the discus throw segment of the decathlon on Sunday.
A rollercoaster performance in the decathlon
Tejaswin had started his campaign with immense momentum. Before the discus throw, he was leading the pack and looked like a strong contender for the gold medal. His performance in the 110m hurdles heat was particularly impressive, where he clocked 14.33 seconds to secure a third-place finish, earning him 932 points.
At that stage, Tejaswin sat comfortably at the summit of the leaderboard with a total of 5,270 points. However, the discus throw proved to be a challenging hurdle. He recorded a best throw of 36.77 metres, which was approximately four metres short of his personal best. This dip in performance saw his total points rise to 5,869, but it was not enough to maintain his lead.
Currently, athletes from China and Japan have moved ahead to occupy the first and second positions, respectively, leaving Tejaswin in the third spot. The road to recovery looks tough, as the final two events of the decathlon—the pole vault and the javelin throw—are not traditionally considered his strongest disciplines.
Mixed results for Indian athletes
While Tejaswin fights to stay in the medal hunt, other Indian athletes faced a difficult day on the field:
- Manju Rani: Had a tough outing in the women's marathon race walk, finishing in sixth place with a time of 3:40:17.
- Priyanka Goswami: Met with disappointment after being disqualified following the 9 km mark of her event.
Surfing glory for India
In a complete contrast to the track and field events, the Indian surfing contingent has been making waves. Sivaraj Babu secured his place in the third round of the men's shortboard event after a dominant performance against Iran's Davoud Khadir, scoring 8.96.
He joins fellow Indian Kishore Kumar in the third round, marking a significant achievement as all four Indian surfers in the men's and women's shortboard categories have successfully progressed.
Women surfers shine in the third round
The momentum continued in the women's category, where both Sugar Shanti Gayen and Kamali Prakash advanced to the third round:
- Sugar Shanti Gayen: Defeated Chen Wan-yu of Chinese Taipei with a score of 7.33, recording 3.83 and 3.50 points in her two waves.
- Kamali Prakash: Overcame Singapore's Camille Marie Spaccarotella with a score of 7.57, outperforming her opponent's 4.50.