If Tejaswin Shankar has achieved the unthinkable, winning a bronze medal in the nerve-wracking decathlon event at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, on Friday night, there are many men who deserve to be credited.

First, the athlete himself, who never lost faith. When he had limped off the jumps pitfive days back, it appeared his campaign was over. No, it was the beginning. Motivated by his fellow athletes, notably Murali Sreeshankar, who won silver in long jump and others, Tejaswin needed time to get over the negativity.

At the other end, there was a team of medical experts working to get Tejaswin ready, in every sense. As has become the famous case with several athletes in Indian sports, Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala, noted ortho surgeon, assisted by Sumansh Sivalanka, a top sports physio, plus Wayne Lombard, the strength and conditioning coach, all were working on Tejaswin.

Big challenge: how to get him ready, knee taped up. An injury to an athlete is different from an injury to a common man. An athlete is an Alpha Male, an athlete is superior, fitter, has more resilience. That inner strength was on view, as Tejaswin went about two days of competitions at the Scotstoun arena in Glasgow, where the weather was unkind. First, showers, then the chill and strong breeze. All this can make an injury more painful. Dr Pardiwala and I are staying in the same hotel in Glasgow, so the updates were regular. I had said, I would not write anything till the event was over.

As Tejaswin won the bronze medal, I recalled my conversations with Dr Pardiwala and Sumansh. Behind the scenes, so much work on an athlete that he pushes his body - beyond limits. The joy and glow was there to see on Tejaswin's face. This is history -- India winning a decathlon medal at the Commonwealth Games. This is the biggest medal of the Games, if you can understand the nuances. This is the biggest story of competing in pain and against several barriers.