Andheri athlete participating in Olympics needs 15 lakh to train

Siddhant Thingalaya who holds the national record in 110m hurdles is training under American speed specialist Gary CablayanA 27yearold athlete from Andheri who made headlines last June when he created a new national record in the 110m hurdles at the Altis Invitational Meet in Phoenix Arizona has hit one of his careers biggest obstacles Lack of funds has come in the way of his becoming the first Indian in nearly 55 years to participate in the 110m hurdles at the 2020 Tokyo OlympicsSiddhant Thingalaya is training under renowned American speed specialist Gary Cablayan in Los AngelesGurbachan Singh Randhawa was the last Indian to race in that category at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo Siddhanth Thingalaya who has been sweating it out under famed American trainer Gary Cablayan in Los Angeles for the last three years needs around Rs 15 lakh to continue training His father Umananda Thingalaya a retired bank cashier has already pumped in all his savings into his sons sporting careerLast year Siddhanth who towers at 63 completed the 110m race at a recordbreaking speed of 1348 seconds breaking the previous national record of 1359 seconds He is currently training for the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast Australia and Asian Games in Jakarta which will be held this year But his eye is set on clinching a medal for India at the Olympics 2020 in TokyoSiddhanth however doeshysnt have the financial strength to continue training in the US I need to correct the minute mistakes I made in the World Championships in London last year I am confident I can make India proud in the upcoming international games but I need financial support My parents have left no stone unturned for my training but they dont have anymore money I hope the authorities consider my situation he said Siddhanth told midday in a telephonic interview from LAHe was previously sponsored by the JSW Foundation and the Mittals Champions Trust Cablayan is a speed specialist who has previously worked with National Football League players like DeSean Jackson and John Ross Recently the Maharashtra Ministry of Education and Sports had extended support by providing a grant of R5 lakh under the Mission Olympics 2020 This is hardly enough to cover 2000 Rs 127 lakh that he pays per training sessionSiddhanths representative Panini Vakil said that when they sought additional financial aid from the ministry they were asked to provide a breakup of all expenses We submitted a letter from his coach and are grateful to the ministry and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for granting us funds But we need Rs 15 lakh more said VakilAt present Siddhanth has been meeting travel expenses from his own pocket I have approached the Athletics Federation of India to get me into the Target Olympic Podium Scheme to assist my training but I am yet to hear from them I have also registered with crowd funding site ImpactGuru he said This is my only chance I dont want to lose itCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news current affairs from Mumbai local news crime news and breaking headlines hereDownload the new midday Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go