Toxic air wake-up call: The biggest limiter is I can’t do strenuous training because my lungs are going to be impacted: Tejaswin Shankar

We know that when there’s more particles in the air, it becomes extremely hard to breathe. Now when you’re doing physical activity and your heart rate goes up, that just means that your body needs more oxygen to be able to convert all that into energy and be able to sustain your heart rate, which is now not 100 beats per minute, but 160 beats per minute.

So for that to happen, the uptake of air is a lot higher. And the expectation is that, through the respiratory process, the body is able to consume more oxygen. What’s happened over the last few years is now the uptake of oxygen has not been as much, but the uptake of pollution has increased because the particulate in the air has increased also.

So that directly impacts your ability to do physical activity because you see a lot of people struggling. People, not just athletes, from all spectrums, not being able to go for morning walks, not being able to do basic physical activity. Back in the day the winter months were more about if you can brave the weather. But now it’s less about the weather and more about the fact that it’s polluted.

And then summer months anyway it’s so hot that it’s extremely difficult to do anything physical. Beyond all these sorts of things, I feel like there is a physiological implication for athletes in Delhi.

And we thought it was an outdoor problem. But if people in badminton are complaining, then clearly the problem has escalated to a point where it’s affecting indoor sports also. So I definitely think it’s a big problem.

Earlier, the biggest factor was motivation more than anything else during the winter months. You don’t want to get out of bed early in the morning or stay out late at night. So that was more of a winter problem. But now it’s escalated to where it’s become a pollution problem. When I was younger, obviously, this problem (pollution) wasn’t as persistent.

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At that time, sardi ki dhoop (winter sun) used to be that time of the day when everybody would want to come out; 12 o’clock to 3 o’clock. And you wanted to make the most of that time. Because that’s when the weather would be extremely pleasant. As kids we would get out of the house around that time. Even during school hours, the teachers would take us out. But I think over the course of time, somebody like myself, I prefer to move out of Delhi.

So even this year, in preparation for the Asian Games, I left Delhi in the first week of November to be in Bhubaneswar for one month. And then I came back in December. I was here (in Delhi) for 10 days to spend some time with my family. And then I moved to South Africa. Then I came to the US. The whole idea was to try and avoid time spent in Delhi during those months. The biggest limiter is I can’t do strenuous training to the point where I want to in that preparatory phase because my lungs are going to be impacted and I don’t want to risk long term damage or do that sort of thing. Because I have bigger goals.

I can sit and say all these things because now I’m at a luxury where funding is not a problem. I’m able to afford the trips or maybe TOPS is able to help me out. But then that might not be the case for all aspiring athletes. And some of them, even now, don’t have the option of going out of Delhi. And they don’t have the luxury of not training because competitions come up. So you can’t afford to take a two-three months break.

(Tejaswin Shankar has won medals at the Asian Games and the Asian Championships in the decathlon. He is also a Commonwealth Games medalist in the high jump. He spoke to Nihal Koshie.)

Nihal Koshie is an Associate Editor and sports writer at The Indian Express. He is best known for his in-depth reporting and investigative work that often explores the intersection of sports and social issues. He is also a key member of the sports desk, which is based out of The Indian Express' office in Noida. Professional Background Role: Associate Editor (Sports) at The Indian Express. Key Achievements: He is a two-time winner of the prestigious Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism. He won the RNG award for 'Sports Journalism' for 2019 for his exclusive interview and follow up stories with sprinter Dutee Chand, who became the first Indian athlete to say she was in a same-sex relationship. He won his second RNG award in the 'Investigative Reporting' for 2023 for a series of exclusive stories related to sexual harassment charges levelled against WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh by the country's top women wrestlers. Expertise: While he covers major sports, he is particularly recognized for his extensive reporting on Athletics, investigative stories and long-form news features. Recent Notable Topics & Articles (Late 2025) Nihal Koshie’s recent work reflects a focus on investigative and human-interest stories Recent investigative pieces: He recently wrote a profile of an Indian teenager serving a jail sentence in Kenya after being embroiled in a doping scandal while chasing "Olympic dreams." Wrestling: He continues to track the political and social fallout of the Indian wrestling protests, including the recent public appearances of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and the political career of wrestler Vinesh Phogat. Recent long-form features: The story of the rise of Kranti Gaud, the young fast bowler who was a key member of the ICC women's World Cup-winning team; The physics and science behind modern cricket bats Podcast Presence He is a guest and contributor to the "Game Time" podcast by The Indian Express, where he provides technical and social analysis of current sporting events. Experience: 24+ years Previous experience: Times of India (2001-2005), Daily News and Analysis (2005 to 2010) Nihal joined The Indian Express in May, 2010 Social Media X ( formerly Twitter) : @nkoshie You can follow his latest work and full archive on his official author profile. ... Read More

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