Kansas State University Athletics
SE: K-State T&F’s Shankar Takes Unexpected Journey from India to Manhattan, Cricket to High Jump
Feb 22, 2018 | Track & Field, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
Growing up in India, K-State freshman Tejaswin Shankar — TJ, for short — had never heard of the NCAA. Like many in his country, he was raised to follow the Indian Premier League for cricket, the country's most popular sport and his "first love" when it came to athletics.
Then "one fine day," as Shankar describes it, he broke the Indian national record in high jump. When he cleared the record-breaking mark of 2.26m/7-05 at the 2016 National Junior Championships, Shankar remembers thinking, "Wow, I can jump."
Still, he had no idea how far his abilities could take him until Gary Calvert, a javelin coach for India's national team, pushed him toward a collegiate career in the United States.
"He was, like, 'Why don't you try to go to the USA? They have a thing called the NCAA, and that's really big,'" recalled Shankar, who will compete at the Big 12 Indoor Championships on Saturday in Ames, Iowa. "I didn't know about it because track and field is not the primary sport in India. It's cricket. I was also a pretty good cricket player and I just loved playing cricket. I thought I'd do something in cricket."
Shankar may have been in the dark when it came to collegiate track and field in the United States, but he did know a few names. The first was Cliff Rovelto.
"(Calvert) asked me if I knew any good coaches in the USA," Shankar said. "I said, 'When it comes to the USA, I just know there's Coach Rovelto, who's like the messiah of high jump.'"
Shankar learned about K-State's Director of Track and Field and Cross Country while training with Jamie Nieto, a two-time U.S. Olympian who used to be coached by Rovelto. So, Shankar and Calvert sent Rovelto an email with the video of his record-breaking jump. A few months later, Shankar received a phone call he will never forget.
When his phone rang, Shankar knew it was from the United States by the country code on his caller ID. He didn't anticipate the conversation being of much importance, however.
"I picked the phone up and was, like, 'Hello?' Then he said, 'Hi, it's Cliff.' I was, like, 'Who's Cliff?' He said, 'From K-State,'" Shankar said. "I was thinking, 'Oh my God. This is Cliff Rovelto calling from K-State.' I was really excited.
"That was probably the most exciting day of my life when I got the call."
The call came with a scholarship offer, and Shankar didn't need a campus tour or official visit to make a decision. The opportunity to jump for Rovelto, who's produced five male national champions in the high jump in the last 10 years at K-State, sold Shankar immediately.
Shankar received another momentous phone call shortly before moving to Manhattan, too. This one was from K-State assistant coach Erik Kynard, Jr., a silver medalist at the 2012 Olympics who recently won his fifth-straight U.S. Indoor national high jump title, the most ever in the event.
"I remember thinking, 'Wow! Erik Kynard just called me,'" Shankar, a fan of Kynard's from watching his YouTube videos growing up, said. "After Coach Rovelto called me, I knew that I was going to K-State. After Erik called me, I was just looking at my flight tickets right then."
Before Shankar left India as its national record holder, his coach left him with some parting words of wisdom. The 6-foot-4 freshman Wildcat, now learning from one of the best high jump minds in the world and training around many highly successful jumpers, has hung onto the advice every day since.
"The one thing he said and the one thing I really believe is there are like 195 countries and there are 195 national record holders, but there's just one Olympic champion. So if you want to get there, then you have to learn as much as you can and not be in your bubble of 'national record holder,'" Shankar said. "Coming here, the main purpose is to learn as much as I can. This is probably the best environment I could ever get, with all these great athletes around me."
Whether it's seeing the competitive fire of former Wildcat Akela Jones or watching Kynard clear ridiculous heights "like it's a piece of cake," Shankar said there's no shortage of inspiration at K-State.
In those athletes, Shankar can see how far embracing Rovelto's guidance can go. Or, in his case, how high.
"I can see that I'm improving in every aspect, and that's the best part about it," he said. "I can see I'm improving. I can see I'm jumping high consistently but I just need to get that big jump out at some point. Coach thinks he can see it in me."
Shankar hopes that big jump comes out this weekend. Heading into his first conference meet, his season-best clearance of 2.19m/7-02.25 ranks third in the Big 12 and is tied for 18th nationally.
"This is the time I'm supposed to peak. If I get the right mindset, I'm pretty sure I can jump pretty high in that competition," said Shankar, who will travel home after the conference meet to compete in India's national championships. "So back-to-back competitions coming up and they're two very crucial competitions. I'm really excited to do well in both of them. I just have to be in the right mindset to do it."
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Growing up in India, K-State freshman Tejaswin Shankar — TJ, for short — had never heard of the NCAA. Like many in his country, he was raised to follow the Indian Premier League for cricket, the country's most popular sport and his "first love" when it came to athletics.
Then "one fine day," as Shankar describes it, he broke the Indian national record in high jump. When he cleared the record-breaking mark of 2.26m/7-05 at the 2016 National Junior Championships, Shankar remembers thinking, "Wow, I can jump."
Still, he had no idea how far his abilities could take him until Gary Calvert, a javelin coach for India's national team, pushed him toward a collegiate career in the United States.
"He was, like, 'Why don't you try to go to the USA? They have a thing called the NCAA, and that's really big,'" recalled Shankar, who will compete at the Big 12 Indoor Championships on Saturday in Ames, Iowa. "I didn't know about it because track and field is not the primary sport in India. It's cricket. I was also a pretty good cricket player and I just loved playing cricket. I thought I'd do something in cricket."
Shankar may have been in the dark when it came to collegiate track and field in the United States, but he did know a few names. The first was Cliff Rovelto.
"(Calvert) asked me if I knew any good coaches in the USA," Shankar said. "I said, 'When it comes to the USA, I just know there's Coach Rovelto, who's like the messiah of high jump.'"
Shankar learned about K-State's Director of Track and Field and Cross Country while training with Jamie Nieto, a two-time U.S. Olympian who used to be coached by Rovelto. So, Shankar and Calvert sent Rovelto an email with the video of his record-breaking jump. A few months later, Shankar received a phone call he will never forget.
When his phone rang, Shankar knew it was from the United States by the country code on his caller ID. He didn't anticipate the conversation being of much importance, however.
"I picked the phone up and was, like, 'Hello?' Then he said, 'Hi, it's Cliff.' I was, like, 'Who's Cliff?' He said, 'From K-State,'" Shankar said. "I was thinking, 'Oh my God. This is Cliff Rovelto calling from K-State.' I was really excited.
"That was probably the most exciting day of my life when I got the call."
The call came with a scholarship offer, and Shankar didn't need a campus tour or official visit to make a decision. The opportunity to jump for Rovelto, who's produced five male national champions in the high jump in the last 10 years at K-State, sold Shankar immediately.
Shankar received another momentous phone call shortly before moving to Manhattan, too. This one was from K-State assistant coach Erik Kynard, Jr., a silver medalist at the 2012 Olympics who recently won his fifth-straight U.S. Indoor national high jump title, the most ever in the event.
"I remember thinking, 'Wow! Erik Kynard just called me,'" Shankar, a fan of Kynard's from watching his YouTube videos growing up, said. "After Coach Rovelto called me, I knew that I was going to K-State. After Erik called me, I was just looking at my flight tickets right then."
Before Shankar left India as its national record holder, his coach left him with some parting words of wisdom. The 6-foot-4 freshman Wildcat, now learning from one of the best high jump minds in the world and training around many highly successful jumpers, has hung onto the advice every day since.
"The one thing he said and the one thing I really believe is there are like 195 countries and there are 195 national record holders, but there's just one Olympic champion. So if you want to get there, then you have to learn as much as you can and not be in your bubble of 'national record holder,'" Shankar said. "Coming here, the main purpose is to learn as much as I can. This is probably the best environment I could ever get, with all these great athletes around me."
Whether it's seeing the competitive fire of former Wildcat Akela Jones or watching Kynard clear ridiculous heights "like it's a piece of cake," Shankar said there's no shortage of inspiration at K-State.
In those athletes, Shankar can see how far embracing Rovelto's guidance can go. Or, in his case, how high.
"I can see that I'm improving in every aspect, and that's the best part about it," he said. "I can see I'm improving. I can see I'm jumping high consistently but I just need to get that big jump out at some point. Coach thinks he can see it in me."
Shankar hopes that big jump comes out this weekend. Heading into his first conference meet, his season-best clearance of 2.19m/7-02.25 ranks third in the Big 12 and is tied for 18th nationally.
"This is the time I'm supposed to peak. If I get the right mindset, I'm pretty sure I can jump pretty high in that competition," said Shankar, who will travel home after the conference meet to compete in India's national championships. "So back-to-back competitions coming up and they're two very crucial competitions. I'm really excited to do well in both of them. I just have to be in the right mindset to do it."
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