Asian Games: Tejaswin Shankar wins men's decathlon bronze with 7,934 points

Tejaswin Shankar won bronze in the men's decathlon at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Sunday, 27 September 2026, with 7,934 points. Sportstar, The Times of India and The Indian Express all reported that total. He won the last of the ten events, the 1,500 metres, in 4:33.09, finishing that race ahead of Japan's Yuma Maruyama. Maruyama won the decathlon gold with 8,123 points. China's Chen Xinghua took silver with 8,012. The Times of India said Chen was third in the 1,500m. The gap from Shankar to gold was 189 points, and to silver 78.

Sportstar said he is the first Indian man to win two Asian Games medals in the decathlon. He had taken silver at Hangzhou in 2023. The Indian Express gave the Hangzhou numbers: Shankar 7,666 for silver, and Sun Qihao of China 7,816 for gold. The Express said this year's contest was tighter at the top. The winning total in Nagoya, 8,123, sits above the Hangzhou gold score, and Shankar's 7,934 sits above the score that took silver three years ago.

The Times of India said he won three of the ten events: the long jump, the high jump and the 1,500m. The Indian Express set out the first day. He ran 10.98 seconds in the 100m for 865 points, which the paper said was well short of his personal best. He led the long jump with 7.53m and 942 points, short of the 7.82m he recorded at the 2026 Commonwealth Games. His shot put was 13.16m for 677 points. In the high jump he cleared 2.18m for 973 points and opened a large lead. The 400m was worth 881 points, and he ended the first day at the top of the standings. Those five returns, as printed, add to 4,338 points.

On the second day the Express reported a personal best in the javelin, 53.37m, and a discus throw of 36.77m. These reports give no hurdles or pole vault marks for him. He then won the 1,500m in 4:33.09. Maruyama's lead from the earlier events held, and The Times of India said that lead is what secured the gold.

The other Indian entered, Thowfeeq Noushad, missed the second day because of an injury, Sportstar reported. The paper did not give the nature of the injury or his score after day one.

Shankar's Commonwealth Games result earlier this year is not agreed between these reports. Sportstar said he won bronze in Glasgow. The Indian Express said he won silver at the Commonwealth Games, and that he became the first Indian to pass 8,000 decathlon points with a national record of 8,057. The Express called the Asian Games bronze his second major medal of the season, alongside that Commonwealth medal and the 8,057 mark.

The Times of India placed the bronze in India's Games tally. It said this was the country's 35th medal, taking the count to 4 gold, 15 silver and 16 bronze, and the 11th medal in athletics. The same report said India was still waiting for its first track and field gold of these Games. On the same Sunday, The Times of India reported Harita Bhadra's bronze in the women's 200m in 23.20 seconds, 0.01 ahead of Japan's Abigeirufuka Ido. Indonesia's Shanti Pereira won that race in 22.78, China's Yujie Chen was second in 22.93, and Unnathi Aiyappa Bolland was sixth in 23.46. In the women's long jump, Ancy Sojan's 6.53m in the fifth round was passed by China's Yingying Huang, who jumped 6.55m in the final round. Ancy's last jump was 6.49m. Shaili Singh's best was 6.42m. China's Mengyi Tan jumped 6.46m with her last attempt, and Shaili finished fourth.