By Abhishek Mishra in Chennai
On a rain-affected third day at the National Senior Inter-State Athletics Championship in Chennai, the focus was on the 110m hurdles final. Under a gloomy sky and persistent evening showers, India’s national record holder aimed for a strong performance to gain crucial ranking points at this B-category meet – a last chance to qualify for the World Championship in Tokyo.
Tejas Shirse sailed past every hurdle to claim gold. Despite the win, the Maharashtra athlete walked away with a hint of dissatisfaction. The slippery track and tricky conditions proved to be a real hurdle for him.
The national record holder failed to grab a World Championship ticket. “With this timing, I’m not sure if I’ll make it. It’s a tough call and I guess I was just unlucky,” said Tejas.
The 23-year-old from Maharashtra clocked 13.60s, which was not close to his national record of 13.41s. “13.60 is something I can do anytime, anywhere. Disappointments happen sometimes. That’s an athlete’s life, ups and downs. I’ve had a lot of downs this year but I’ll come back strong. I know my potential,” said Tejas.
Before stepping onto the track, Tejas had set a target of dipping below 13.50s to strengthen his chances of qualifying for the Worlds through rankings.
“I wanted to get the qualification. Even if I had finished below sub-13.50 seconds, I would have qualified for the World Championship through points,” he said. “With this timing, I think I’ll be 41st in the world rankings. Only forty people go, so you can understand how disappointing that is,” he explained.
Tejas said he was running in pain, having suffered multiple injuries, which had halted his season. He had trained for only two weeks since his comeback.
“Because of my injury, I had only trained for two weeks after my comeback. If anyone follows my Instagram, they would know that I went to Europe for some competitions with just one week of training because I wanted to give myself a shot at the World Championships. But it is a tough pill to swallow again.”
The 23-year-old feels that he is running alone in India. Every time he steps on the track for the hurdles, he finds it too easy to win due to the lack of competition in the country.
“It is difficult for me to run alone. I have been running all by myself for the last four years. I would really appreciate it if someone would come up and push me and give me some competition.”
Tejas dedicated his gold medal to his baby niece, his sister’s child. “I have a very beautiful baby niece, and I really love her. I wanted to dedicate this performance to her,” said Tejas with a smile.
The 2025 season ends for the star hurdler. He will take a break before training again to improve his timing, with eyes on the Commonwealth Games, the Asian Games and a Diamond League dream.
“My next target is to hit around 13.2 seconds. If I achieve that, then I can get into any competition, even the Diamond League. That’s what I’m aiming for. I had planned for it this year but it didn’t happen. It will happen slowly.”
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