Good Sports: SOARING HIGH AT K-STATE
In 2017, Kansas State University offered an athletic scholarship to an 18-year-old from New Delhi named Tejaswin Shankar. The following June, while competing as a freshman, he became the NCAA outdoor champion in men’s high jump, clearing 2.24 meters.
Now a sophomore and a two-time All-American in the high jump, Shankar will get a chance to defend his title this June at the NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas.
A graduate of Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, he holds Indian national records in both indoor (2.28 meters) and outdoor (2.29 meters) high jump. He matched his indoor record at the Big 12 championships in February, winning his first Big 12 title.
Shankar is the third Indian to win an NCAA title in track and field. Mohinder Singh Gill won five NCAA titles in triple jump for California Polytechnic State University from 1968 to 1971 and Vikas Gowda won an NCAA title in discus for University of North Carolina in 2006.
Compiled and partly written by Indian humorist MELVIN DURAI, author of the novel Bala Takes the Plunge.
[Comments? Contributions? Please email us at melvin@melvindurai.com. We welcome jokes, quotes, online clips, and more.]
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