High jumper Tejaswin Shankar opened India’s account in track and field at the Birmingham Games on Wednesday with a bronze medal, and became the first from the country to secure a Commonwealth Games medal in the event.

Tejaswin took home the bronze with a best effort of 2.22m, which was short of his season’s best of 2.27m at the NCAA Track and Field Outdoor Championships in Eugene, USA, in June. New Zealand’s Hamish Kerr won the gold with 2.25m and Australia’s Brandon Starc — the younger brother of Australia cricketer Mitchell Starc — the silver. “My personal best is 2.29 which would have secured me a gold yesterday,” Tejaswin said at a SAI and JSW-facilitated media interaction on Thursday.

“But I feel in championship meets, it is more about a medal than a record.

“My personal view, of course,” he added after a pause. “My target is to jump 2.30. But for now, I have zero regrets because to be here, to take the first jump, to hold the medal in my hand, is a dream come true for me.”

The medal capped a tense journey for the 23-year-old who was initially not picked in the Indian squad after he failed to compete in an inter-state meet in Chennai, which clashed with the NCAA event in the US, where he studies.

Despite achieving the 2.27m automatic qualifying mark for the CWG, Tejaswin was omitted by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI). Tejaswin took the AFI to court which ordered his inclusion in the squad. Tejaswin was eventually added as a replacement for Arokia Rajiv, the quarter-mile runner who failed his fitness test. Even that was not the end of the drama, as the IOA said the Commonwealth Games had not accepted their entry for Tejaswin. Eventually he was in, after two members of the squad failed dope tests.

But for Tejaswin, all that is in the past.

“The moment I landed in Birmingham, there was only one goal — to bring a medal for the country. The past did not matter.”

What was his strategy as he took the field? “See, the weather gets cooler from 7pm and with it, the body tends to stiffen. So I was determined not to miss the earlier jumps as it would get more and more difficult as time progressed.”

And how does he stay focused on the field with so many activities going on around him? Alongside the high jump, numerous track events were on....the 10k, the 100m heats. Even the women’s javelin on the other side of the field.

“Events like the high jump and pole vault carry on for hours. So an athlete must be prepared for these startstop-start-stop eventualities. Adapting to situations is a part of every athlete’s life.” It has been known for a while that he harbours decathlon dreams. “My participation in decathlon at the Asian Games is a certainty,” said Tejaswin.

“With constant tendonitis on my knee, I have not been able to jump as much as I would like to. But I have been able to supplement my high jump training by doing a lot of long jump activities or hurdles. Then gradually I started doing well in 3-4 events which triggered my desire to participate in decathlon,” he said. Has he heard from his close pal Neeraj Chopra?

“Not from Neeraj yet but I did get a call from his uncle which I missed amid the post-medal chaos. “At the interview after the win,” continued Tejaswin, “some people compared my feat to Neeraj’s. How ridiculous! Imagine comparing his Olympic gold to my Commonwealth bronze! “If one person back home is inspired by my bronze, I shall consider that my achievement,” Tejaswin concluded.