Tejaswin Shankar Scripts History, Becomes First Indian To Cross 8000-Point Barrier In Decathlon

Indian athletics witnessed a historic evening in Ranchi as Tejaswin Shankar became the first Indian ever to breach the 8000-point barrier in decathlon at the Federation Cup on Saturday.

The 27-year-old produced a sensational all-round performance to finish with 8057 points, smashing his own previous national record of 7826 and comfortably clinching the title.

In the process, he added yet another landmark moment to what turned out to be a red-letter day for Indian athletics.

Tejaswin’s historic feat also comfortably cleared the Athletics Federation of India’s qualification standard of 7787 points for the Commonwealth Games 2026.

Tejaswin Rewrites Indian Athletics History

The Indian star was in sublime form across the two-day competition and improved

his personal bests in four separate events — the 100m, long jump, 400m and 1500m.

Already regarded as one of India’s finest multi-event athletes, Tejaswin now stands alone in the history books as the country’s first decathlete to breach the prestigious 8000-point mark.

Vishal TK Also Breaks National Record

Alongside Tejaswin’s heroics, Vishal Thennarasu Kayalvizhi etched his own name into Indian athletics folklore by becoming the first Indian athlete to clock under 45 seconds in the men’s 400m.

Vishal stormed to a national-record time of 44.98 seconds, bettering his own previous mark of 45.12 set at last year’s Inter-State Championships.

However, despite the record-breaking run, he narrowly missed the Commonwealth Games qualifying standard of 44.96 seconds.

Rajesh Ramesh finished second in 45.31s, while Jay Kumar took third place with a time of 45.47s.

Gurindervir, Vithya Also Shine

Earlier in the day, Gurindervir Singh clocked a blistering 10.09 seconds in the men’s 100m to qualify for the Commonwealth Games.

Meanwhile, Olympian Vithya Ramraj won the women’s 400m title in 52.22 seconds.

The Federation Cup serves as the lone selection trial for India’s athletics squad for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, scheduled to take place from July 23 to August 2.