Tejaswin Shankar secures India’s lone gold at Asian Indoor Athletics Championships

India ended the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships with a total of five medals, finishing sixth overall , while China dominated with 34 medals . The championships were held in Tianjin and featured top athletes from across Asia competing in multiple indoor track and field events.

India fielded participants in seven disciplines, including heptathlon, high jump, shot put, and long jump. The standout performer was Tejaswin Shankar , who emerged as India’s only gold medalist by winning the men’s heptathlon with a total of 5993 points, surpassing his own national indoor record of 5650 points set in 2021 in the USA.

Shankar, a consistent performer on the Asian stage, holds the national decathlon record of 7826 points set in Poland last year and won silver in decathlon at the 2023 Asian Games . At this championship, he maintained his strong form across all events, clocking 8.02 seconds in the 60m hurdles , clearing 4.20m in pole vault, and finishing the 1000m race in 2:43.91 to secure the gold.

Other medal winners included Tajinderpal Singh Toor , who claimed silver in men’s shot put with a season-best throw of 20.05m, narrowly behind China’s Chengyu Chen (20.07m). Pooja won silver in women’s high jump with 1.87m, and Ancy Sojan earned bronze in women’s long jump with a best leap of 6.21m. On the opening day, Aadrash Ram Jothi Shankar had won bronze in high jump, adding to India’s tally.

Promising long jumper Shahnawaz Khan finished fourth, but overall, India’s athletes showcased strong performances throughout the championships, signaling promise for future international competitions.