Tejaswin Shankar is a busy man. Having began his day at 5:30 am, he has blitzed by a lifting session within the gymnasium, crunched some numbers on the workplace, executed a monitor routine, cooked, and has sufficient left in him for an interview. He is not complaining although. Having his time and area occupied is how he likes his days, and the robust balancing act — juggling a full-time finance job and coaching as an elite athlete — shouldn’t be price brooding over.
“It’s difficult, however not one thing that bogs me down. I wish to have my plate full,” Tejaswin, recent from profitable gold at New Stability Indoor Grand Prix in Boston, mentioned.
For somebody given to over-analyzing, a busy thoughts helps him assume straight. It has been this manner for Tejaswin since his faculty days in Delhi when he efficiently straddled research, sports activities, tabla, and singing. Shifting to NCAA, he shuttled between management workshops, school assignments, bartending (he can rustle up a imply Previous Long-established), and sports activities. There was additionally a small matter of profitable the NCAA title twice, taking the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) to court docket over non-selection finally yr’s Commonwealth Video games (CWG) earlier than profitable a bronze there.
“Indian athletes, specifically, generally make an enormous deal of balancing issues in life. The one time you see an Indian athlete at a office is after they’ve retired. For me, going to work is probably the most refreshing a part of the day. The second most necessary half is once I go away for coaching. Even when I’ve had a nasty day at work, the second I step on the monitor, my focus adjustments. That self-discipline comes naturally to me.”
Odd dalliances with desserts aside — he’s sport for stepping out in sub-zero temperatures at night time for a comforting scoop of ice cream — there aren’t any distractions. The Friday night time temptation to let his hair down with colleagues is non-existent, and neither is he given to bouts of loneliness that par for the course for a younger life in a stressed metropolis.
“I believe it’s actually exhausting to be common,” he says. “Everyone can have a superb day the place you soar 2.26m and a nasty day the place you do not soar in any respect. However to go on the market and soar your common every single day is one thing price celebrating too. My larger aim is to be a greater common individual than what I used to be yesterday. I do not aspire to be the world’s greatest in a single day. I went by that part too, the place I’d stick 2.46 (the ‘new’ world report soar, the present report stands at 2.45m), in the back of my jersey and roam round. However did I break the world report?”
Although not a world report, Tejaswin’s final week’s soar of two.26m in Boston did assist him open his season on a excessive. Importantly, the win got here as a validation for his coaching course of that he revisited post-CWG.
Whereas a soar of two.22m did win him a bronze in Birmingham, it was not an effort Tejaswin was pleased with. He figured {that a} extended pre-season, that started in December 2021, exhausted him earlier than the principle occasions commenced.
“I’m the form of jumper who does not want too many apply jumps to leap excessive. That is one thing I realised post-CWG. Then, I made a decision to establish my finish aim and work backwards,” Tejawin, who trains beneath Cliff Rovelto, mentioned.
The 24-year-old marked out July’s Asian Championships in Pattaya, Thailand as his first main pitstop the place he plans to compete within the decathlon. The coaching was chunked out in phases; the preliminary slots being reserved for “donkey’s work.”
“Principally, excessive depth, technical, and quantity work is often executed in the beginning of the part. We start to taper down from there,” he mentioned.
Within the 5 months since CWG, Tejaswin and Rovelto began “constructing the bottom” for the season. It meant low intensity-high quantity actions, the likes of tempo operating and low amplitude plyometrics actions.
“The thought was to construct a stable base. I began lifting extra, obtained stronger and fitter, did a variety of exhausting labour. Now that the bottom is ready, it’s the time to ease into the season.”
Tejaswin entered the Boston occasion after a few month of jump-specific coaching however with only a few precise jumps. “It was a litmus take a look at for my new coaching method and I’m very proud of the best way my physique felt. I attempt to take lesser jumps in apply now however I attempt to keep match by doing hurdles and lengthy jumps which switch into excessive soar however should not precisely excessive jumps,” he mentioned.
“It was nice for me to carry out exterior the school setting the place you might be spoon-fed. Coaching and restoration weren’t at all times perfect. Balancing work and sport, coping with good and unhealthy days at work, working on 5 hours of sleep and nonetheless with the ability to pull off a 2.26 provides me a variety of confidence. I do know I can do even higher as a result of I understand how dedicated and devoted I’m in going by my routines regardless of these challenges.”
The bigger aim, nonetheless, stays organising for the decathlon. One other excessive soar meet later this month might be adopted by two months of coaching, and if issues keep on monitor, a decathlon debut in April first week ought to transpire.
“Within the days main into that, I’ll try to get extra high quality reps in pole vault, javelin and discus that are my weaker decathlon fits,” he mentioned.
The throws apply although hinges on the provision of assets. The stadium in Kansas Metropolis that Tejaswin visits each night presents hurdles, lengthy soar drills, sprinting and operating. For top soar, pole vault, shot put, discus, and javelin, he drives two hours each Friday night time to the Kansas State College the place he trains over the weekend.
“Regularly, I’ll change my excessive soar classes to pole vault classes. Equally, I am going to maintain testing myself in each occasion until April which is once I’ll put all these occasions to at least one complete take a look at in my decathlon season opener. After that, I’ll come to India for Federation Cup, and a month later, hope to win a medal at Asian Championships.”
Earlier than that although, he’ll seem in no less than 4 extra particular person excessive soar occasions to make sure he stays within the high 36 to make the lower for World Championships. “By the top of June, I wish to be able to qualify for particular person excessive soar occasion at Worlds whereas honing my expertise for decathlon for the Asian Championships. I believe it is doable,” he mentioned.