Tejaswin Shankar finally included in India’s Commonwealth Games Squad after initial rejection

Indian high jumper Tejaswin Shankar has got the clearance to participate in the Birmingham Commonwealth Games starting on July 28.

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Jennifer
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Indian high jumper Tejaswin Shankar has got the clearance to participate in the Birmingham Commonwealth Games starting on July 28.

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Tejaswin’s name was suggested as a replacement for Arokia Rajiv, who withdrew from the National Inter-State Athletics Championships due to illness and as a result, was not considered fit to take part in the Commonwealth Games.

As the name was suggested after the last date, the Organising Committee of Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games (CWG 2022) rejected the change. They considered that it is not a like-for-like replacement.

However, on Friday, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) reportedly informed the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) that the Commonwealth Games Federation has accepted Tejaswin Shankar’s entry. Eventually, he got a clearance to be included in the Indian contingent.

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After the CGF gave its go-ahead, the sports department of the Commonwealth Games also approved the change.

Tejaswin Shankar still holds the national record of high jump since November 2016

Quarter-miler MV Jilna, who was named in the initial list as part of the women's 4x100m relay squad. But later, he was dropped to stick to the number of berths approved by the IOA. The Association has also included him in the squad, reports said.

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Shankar has held the Indian men’s national high jump record since November 2016 when he bettered Hari Shankar Roy's 12-year-old mark of 2.25 meters at the Junior Nationals. He achieved the feat at the age of 17. He further bettered his national record and took it up to 2.29 meters. Shankar achieved this feat on 18 April 2018 at a college tournament in Lubbock, Texas.

His season-best jump thus far in came in June which was 2.27 meters. The jump also helped him to become only the second Indian to win the American inter-college NCAA Championship.

His 2.27-meter jump is also higher than any athlete. It was among those who participated in the Athletics Federation of India's (AFI) June Commonwealth Games trail event, with the best jumper managing 2.24 meters. The qualification mark set by the AFI was 2.27 meters.

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