New Delhi, Feb 8 (NationPress) The 27-year-old Tejaswin Shankar has significantly contributed to India's medal count by clinching a prestigious gold medal on the final day of the 12th Asian Indoor Athletics Championships held in Tianjin, China. This achievement also saw him setting a national record for total points accrued. The Indian team concluded the championships with a total of five medals, including one gold, placing them sixth overall in the medal standings.

China, a dominant force in athletics, topped the medal tally with an impressive haul of 34 medals - comprising 10 gold, 11 silver, and 13 bronze, reinforcing their strength ahead of the upcoming Asian Games scheduled for later this year.

On his journey to gold in the heptathlon, Shankar amassed 5993 points, surpassing his own national record of 5650 points, which was achieved in the USA back in 2021.

Other medalists from India included Pooja, who earned silver in high jump, Tajinderpal Singh Toor with silver in shot put, and Ancy Sojan, who secured bronze in long jump. Earlier in the event, Aadrash Ram Jothi Shankar won a bronze on the opening day as well.

Shankar commenced the heptathlon event in a strong position, leading after Day One. He maintained his impressive performance through the subsequent events: the 60m hurdles, pole vault, and 1000m race, ultimately achieving a personal best and national record of 5993 points.

In the 60m hurdles, Shankar recorded a time of 8.02 seconds, earning him 977 points. By the time he reached the final two events, he was ahead by nearly 485 points over his closest competitor. He finished fourth in the pole vault with a clearance of 4.20m, adding 673 points to his total, bringing his score to 5163 points.

In the final event, the 1000m race, Shankar secured second place with a time of 2:43.91, earning an additional 830 points, culminating in his overall score of 5993 points.

Shankar also holds the national record for decathlon (outdoor) at 7826 points, which he set last year in Poland, and took home a silver medal in decathlon at the 2022 Asian Games in China.

In the men’s shot put, Tajinderpal Singh Toor achieved silver with a season-best throw of 20.05m, while Chengyu Chen of China took gold with a throw of 20.07m. Samardeep Singh Gill, another Indian competitor, finished fifth with a throw of 18.97m.

In the women’s high jump, Pooja secured silver with a jump of 1.87m, tying with Valeriya Gorbatova of Uzbekistan, who won gold. Both athletes failed to clear 1.90m during their attempts.

Ancy Sojan added a bronze to India’s medal tally in long jump, achieving a best jump of 6.21m, while the Chinese athletes dominated the event, with Shiqi Xiong winning gold at 6.42m and Zhishuang Li taking silver with 6.39m.

Moumita Mondal finished sixth in the women's long jump with a distance of 6.01m, and also competed in the 60m hurdles, finishing eighth with a time of 8.40 seconds.

Unfortunately, Pragyan Prasanti Sahu did not qualify for the 60m hurdles final despite achieving a personal best of 8.46 seconds in her heat. Promising long jumper Shahnawaz Khan also fell short of the podium, finishing fourth in the men's long jump.