Three-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist Vinesh Phogat left an endearing message for star Indian athlete Tejaswin Shankar, who had to pull out of the men’s high jump competition at the Glasgow CWG on Monday due to an injury.
Tejaswin had created history by winning India’s first-ever CWG high jump medal, a bronze, in Birmingham in 2022. On Monday, however, he felt a sharp pain in his knee during the warm-up and was forced to withdraw after not being able to clear his opening height.
An emotional Tejaswin struggled to hold back tears while speaking to the media after the event.
“Teju, still you can do it. Stay focused on what is ahead. My coach always said, as professional athletes we must always be prepared for the best and at the same time,
be ready for the worst,” Vinesh tweeted on Tuesday afternoon.
Teju still you can do it. Stay focused on what’s ahead. My coach always said, as professional athletes we must always be prepared for the best and at the same time, be ready for the worst.
In life everything happened for a reason i guess. Rooting for you as always ✊🙌🇮🇳… https://t.co/4F86rt05v9— Vinesh Phogat (@Phogat_Vinesh) July 28, 2026
“I felt a shooting pain in my knee. It happened during my warm-up. It is nothing new; I have always had tendonitis in my knees. I don’t think there is any high jumper who does not have it,” Tejaswin said.
“That is why it is called jumper’s knee. Everyone manages it and so do I,” the CWG medallist added.
Tejaswin said that the injury came at the cruellest possible time, as he had arrived in Glasgow confident of winning another CWG medal.
“But it is one of those days. You want just one day in a year when you don’t have that pain, but it came on that day only. It really stings. In these conditions, I was really confident I could jump for a win, jump for a medal,” Tejaswin said.
