World Athletics Championships: Tejas Shirse set to take on top athletes

India’s 110m hurdler Tejas Shirse. Pic/Tejas Shirse’s Instagram

India's 110m hurdler Tejas Shirse, 23, is extremely excited about the prospect of taking on top athletes at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, beginning from September 13.

"You need to feel the challenge; feel being pushed by your opponents. You don't break world records at national level competitions because that challenge is not there. As a result, you don't perform at your peak. Competing with better players helps you find that extra gear, and that's what I'm hoping to unlock at this event," says Shirse, who hails from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad), and has quickly established himself as one of the country's brightest prospects among track athletes. He broke Siddhanth Thingalaya's National Record (13.48 seconds, set in 2017) in May last year, clocking 13.41 seconds in the 110m hurdles event at the Motonet Grand Prix in Finland.

‘Not thinking about medal'

Shirse qualified for the Championships on the basis of his world rank (41). He realises that a podium finish may not be in his grasp, but that he can achieve much better times - such as the qualification cut-off of 13.27 seconds - if he was to compete with top athletes on a regular basis. "I'm not thinking about winning a medal at this point. I've had two hamstring injuries this year, so my preparation has not been ideal, but I'm still doing the best I can. I'll be quite happy if I can just get a PB [personal best]. Nonetheless, battling against the best in the world would be a great experience," Shirse told
mid-day. He took to the sport while at school (Maharashtra Public School) and credits his Physical Education teacher Poonam Rathod along with founder Major GK Ghuge for encouraging him in the early days. "Before lectures began, Rathod madam used to train me for an hour and I would then participate in various inter-school sports events. Also, added motivation was the extra five per cent that you get from the education board for being a district-level athlete," recalled Shirse who trains under Britain's former 400m hurdler James Hiller at Navi Mumbai.

Shirse also credits Reliance Foundation Sports for supporting his rise at the international level - he finished first at the Taipei Athletics Open and second at the Meeting von Moor (Belgium) earlier this year.

Used to sell shoes earlier

"They've helped me a lot in the last two-and-a-half years, not just in training, but also by sorting out travel and accommodation. This ensures I can focus solely on my performance without worrying about anything else. Earlier [2016-17], I used to raise funds by selling shoes on Instagram to participate in events."