High jumper Tejaswin Shankar clinches gold at outdoor meet in US

Indian high jumper Tejaswin Shankar has claimed a gold medal at the Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Manhattan, USA.

Representing Kanasas State University, Tejaswin cleared 2.28 metres on Saturday, making a facility record.

It was also the season's finest performance for the Indian but a centimetre short of his personal best and the current national record of 2.29m which he created in 2018.

University of Oklahoma's Vernon Turner (2.25m) and Texas Tech University's Jequan Hogan (2.11m) claimed the silver and bronze respectively.

This was Tejaswin's second successive gold at the event.

He claimed the top honours in 2019 as well while the event could not be held in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 22-year-old has been in the US since 2017 when he joined the Kansas State University to pursue business administration on a scholarship.