Asian Games 2026 Decathlon: Shankar’s Bronze Marks New Milestone for Indian Athletics

Tejaswin Shankar’s bronze medal performance in the decathlon at Hangzhou 2026 has etched a new chapter in Indian sports history. Scoring a total of 7,934 points, he joins an elite group as the first Indian male to capture two medals in the decathlon at a single Asian Games.

Japan’s Yuma Maruyama secured the gold with 8,123 points, and China’s Chen Jinghua earned silver with 8,012 points. Shankar began the competition in a commanding position, posting a 14.33‑second run in the 110‑metre hurdles and gathering 932 points, which lifted his early tally to 5,270 points and placed him at the top of the standings.

During the discus throw, his best distance was 36.77 metres – around four metres shy of his personal record – but it was enough to keep him on the podium, raising his cumulative score to 5,869 points. The final two events, pole vault and javelin, proved challenging, preventing a rise to silver.

Additional Indian performances included Manju Rani finishing sixth in the women’s marathon race walk (3:40:17) and Priyanka Goswami’s disqualification from the 9‑km race. In surfing, Shivraj Babu overcame Iran’s Davoud Khadir with an 8.96 score, earning a place in the next round together with teammate Kishor Kumar.