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Quietly, Jashbir Nayak has made rapid progress in the decathlon in about a year’s time. The Odisha athlete, who secured a silver medal with 6443 points in the Indian Open under-23 championships in Chandigarh last year, improved his performance significantly to win the gold this year in Patna with a new meet record — boasting an accumulation of 7065 points.
His noteworthy performance has not only underlined Nayak’s potential in athletics’ toughest event, but has also propelled his ambition to do well in the 2026 Asian Games in Japan.
Breaking a barrier
Having broken a psychological barrier of 7000 points, 22-year-old Nayak is full of confidence.
“The scheduling was an issue in Patna. On day one, the second half of the competition began early so the time to rest was less. On day two, there was no rest. Otherwise, I think I could have gathered more points,” said Nayak.
“My aim was to rewrite the meet record (6975) of my senior Yaman Deep Sharma. Since I have crossed 7000 points, now my next target is improving it to 7500 so that I make it to the 2026 Asian Games. That’s my primary goal. If I continue to improve, then I may end up winning a medal there.”
Nayak’s progress has happened in fast-forward mode. A late beginner, Nayak was not a serious athlete until he completed his 12th standard. The son of a former army man who used to be a swimming coach, the youngster was encouraged by his father (Thayadhar Nayak) to take up an individual sport. He fondly remembers his short journey as an athlete.
“After the 12th standard, I was playing team sports — football and volleyball. I did not choose any particular event. My father said, ‘In a team sport, if you played well and others did not, then the team may lose. That is not the case in an individual sport.’
“In school, I used to do long jump and triple jump. In the 2020 district meet, I won gold medals and got selected for the State meet. In the 2021 State meet, I bagged a silver in long jump and a gold in triple jump. The Kalahandi district sports officer, Subhashis Nayak, recommended my name to Siba Prasad Mishra sir, who was working with Reliance Foundation Youth Sports (RFYS). I trained with him for six months.
“Siba sir, on the verge of his retirement, asked me to join RFYS. After the trials, I was selected for long jump and triple jump in June that year. Then Martin Owens was the head coach. At that time, Indian jumpers such as Jeswin Aldrin and Murali Sreeshankar had set very high standards. One needed to do around 7.30m to compete in the National meet. I was doing around 6.80m-6.90m. It would have taken a lot of time to catch up.
Headroom: Nayak, according to multi-event coach Sanjay Garnaik, has the potential to improve by about 150 points in the pole vault. | Photo credit: Reliance Foundation Youth Sports
“So I changed to the multi-event competition. My senior decathlete Yaman Deep Sharma had joined RFYS and was at the top. I got a chance to train with him. Martin sir specialised in sprint and hurdles and RFYS did not have any multi-event coach. After a year, multi-event coach Sanjay Garnaik joined the Government of Odisha. I trained with him and did well in competitions — silver medals in the Indian Open under-23 meet in Chandigarh in October 2023 and the National inter-State meet in Panchkula in June and now the gold in Patna.”
The turnaround
From a 12th place finish with an aggregate of 5821 in the Federation Cup meet in Ranchi in May 2023, Nayak, after being trained by Garnaik, registered an improvement of 622 points in five months to land a silver in the under-23 meet in Chandigarh.
“Because of his body structure, ability, talent and discipline, Jashbir has improved a lot. We started slowly. Out of 10 events, he improved slowly in two, then in the next two months in some other events. That’s how he consolidated his points and improved his rankings. He has become better in every event,” said Garnaik.
With an overall increase of 1244 points so far from the time Nayak started training with Garnaik, there is scope to raise the bar further.
“He can improve about 150 points in pole vault and 150 in high jump. In other events, I am planning to see him improve 30 points apiece. He has got the talent to reach 7700 to 7800 points, which should get him a medal in the 2026 Asian Games,” said Garnaik.
“I believe, if everything goes well, then he will be around 8000 points by the next Olympics [in Los Angeles].”
For his primary target of medalling in the Asian Games, Nayak has ample time to fine-tune his skills. Of course, it will be interesting to see how he prepares for the 2025 calendar, which comprises the Asian championships.
“His throwing events still need some work. I have got two years to turn him around in those. He will be good in discus and shot put. In combined events, we have to strike a balance. If we focus too much on one event, then other events may go down.”
Nayak, too, is clear about his approach, which includes participation in university meets. For that, he has resisted the temptation of a job with the Indian Army and has decided to continue his studies by enrolling in a post-graduate course.
“Had I accepted the job offer, then I could not have studied in a university and competed in university-level events. Competing there will give me more chances and improve my score prior to the Asian Games.”
Steel sharpens steel
The Bhubaneswar-based Nayak — who benefits from the training facilities set up by the Odisha government and the RFYS — is keen to compete alongside elite decathletes who have crossed the 7000 mark, including Asian Games silver medallist Tejaswin Shankar (7666), Yaman Deep (7165) and N. Thowfeeq (7042), to extract the best from himself. “At present there are four decathletes who have registered 7000-plus points. If we compete more, then it will raise the standard of the competition and lift everyone’s performance.”
Upgrade necessary: It’s in the throwing events that Nayak needs ‘some work’, says coach Garnaik. | Photo credit: Reliance Foundation Youth Sports
Nayak acknowledges the teamwork, including the contribution of event-specific coaches assisting Garnaik and other support staff at RFYS, and loves the camaraderie (as all the participants celebrate together after the competition) in decathlon. “Unlike other events, each one competes till the end and you enjoy that moment. If you are getting a medal, it’s icing on the cake.”
As the Nayak-Garnaik duo works with a plan in mind and a target in sight, one needs to wait and see how the combine clicks in the run-up to the continental mega event in two years’ time.
Published – October 26, 2024 12:16 am IST
