Jalpaiguri, Dec. 29: Harishankar Roy, the high jumper who bagged the gold at the recent Commonwealth Games in Australia by crossing the bar at 2.13 m, returned to Jalpaiguri amid joyous celebration.

Almost everyone from the village was waiting with garlands and bouquets at Jalpaiguri town station to welcome their hero.

The athlete, who hails from South Dhupjhora, a small hamlet near Lataguri, will spend a few days at home before heading to Patiala, in Punjab, to train under Uzbek coach Evzend Shivily.

?I have achieved one dream. Now, I have set my sights on the 2008 Olympics,? Roy said.

?Three other athletes of our country, from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, are being coached by Evzend Shivily. The daily four-and-a-half hour schedule includes sprinting and high jump practice. We are positive about improving our performance in future,? he added.

Roy?s parents, however, had more to be proud of.

Abhishek, Roy?s brother and a Class XI student at Gayanath High School in Chulsa, bagged the gold medal in high jump at the state school athletic meet held at Joka in South 24-Paraganas yesterday, by leaping over a bar placed at 1.90 m.

?We are positive our children will improve on their performances and continue to make the country proud,? Fuleshwar Roy, Hari?s father said.

The few who had not gone to the station had made preparations to welcome Roy to the village.

?We were waiting for Harishankar and Abhishek to arrive. They have made us proud. The village has gained prominence because of their achievements and we wanted to show them just how happy we were for them,? Mussarraf Hussain, a resident of the village, said.

Asked about how he rated his brother?s performance, Roy said: ?I had participated in the same meet in 1999. I had stood first, but only managed to cross the 1.75 m mark. Abhishek, on the other hand topped 1.9 m, which is a clear indicator of his potential.?

?I am sure he will perform better in future and bag medals at the national and international levels,? he said.