Exposure trips to Belgium helped me compete with better athletes and get crucial rankings points: Tejas Shirse

Tejas Shirse is nursing a foot injury which he has been carrying for a while now. The reigning National record holder (13.41s) in 110m hurdles, however, insists it will not hold him from putting his best foot forward in his maiden World (senior) championships in Tokyo. Tejas will be competing in the 110m Heats on September 15.

“To line up against the best in the world is something else. And see how my training, my attitude, my ambition stands against the best in the world. And most important, not get timid and back down just by having good athletes by your side,” he said.

In this interview, the 23-year-old from Maharashtra speaks to The Hindu about his qualification to Worlds, his training methods, how much the exposure trips this year helped him get crucial ranking points to qualify for the Worlds, and how the information about him being the second Indian hurdler to make it to the Worlds doesn’t excite him, among other things.

Excerpts:

How does it feel to compete in your first World Championships?

Mixed emotions. I’m very excited. At the same time, it’s a big stage. Moreover, I’m excited to see how it will actually turn out. I’m really confident that I will put my best foot forward. Actually, my preparation wasn’t as good as it should have been because of my injury. But I’m hoping I will still be at my best. I have no expectations. I want to savour the experience as well. To line up against the best in the world is something else. And see how my training, my attitude, my ambition stands against the best in the world. And most important, not get timid and back down just by having good athletes by your side.

You qualified through the World rankings…

If World Athletics has to select an athlete on rankings basis, one must have competed in at least five high-level competitions and performed well there. I think the cornerstone of I getting selected for the Worlds has been the foreign exposure trips. Actually, my two fastest timings have come outside India in Finland (13.41s) and Belgium (13.51s). Because what happens is, when you are running against better athletes, you have to be at your best to do well. That’s when you really dig deep and that performance comes out.

Do you want to register a sub-13.50s at Tokyo. Or content making the semifinals?

No, no, not timing-wise, but I know that if I give my best and even if I run like a sub-13.50s or 13.40s, I will have a good chance of making it to the semifinals and take it from there.

Could you explain how difficult it was to run in the Chennai National inter-state meet (August 20 to 24) since there were sudden spells of rain? It must have dampened your enthusiasm. You did 13.60s, which was well below your personal best and well below the Worlds qualifying mark of 13.27s…

I prepared well for Chennai. I had run 13.51s [in Leuven, Belgium] on August 16. I know I can’t blame the rain. But it, definitely, hampered a little bit of speed. Moreover, the event was delayed by an hour or so and that certainly played a part. I still got selected for the Worlds and I’m really happy.

You did 13.51s, which was the season’s best in Belgium. Was that a sort of confidence booster coming to the World championships qualifiers in Chennai?

I could do that (13.51s) in Belgium because I had good competitors with me. Having good competitors also pushes you a lot.

After the Chennai meet, there were talks that you might not make it to the Worlds and then later you qualified…

Yes, yes. I was checking daily what changes were there in the World Athletics list for the World championships. Because most of the time, you know, out of the 40 who qualify in 110mH, there will be someone or the other who might pull out because of some injuries or some other issues. I was hoping that I would make it this year. But yes, definitely, it was an anxious wait for me.

You suffered an injury this season. Can you explain what injury it was and how difficult it was to make a comeback?

It was an injury to my left foot. I had a stress reaction in that foot. I still have that. Actually, I ran with pain in Chennai. I gritted the pain out. I pushed a little more because I really wanted to make the cut for the World championships. So, after the race in Taiwan in June this year, I incurred the pain. Overall, I had two hamstring tears on my left hamstring. Actually, I took rest for two months after the Taiwan competition as I couldn’t do anything. I was just doing swimming and stuff at the Reliance Centre in Ulwe (Navi Mumbai). Then I went to Belgium for a couple of races in Leuven and Oordegem. That was really helpful for me to get crucial ranking points for the World championships.

Go through your emotions of creating a National record (13.41s) in Finland in May last year. How big was that for you?

It was good. It was my first national record. I really felt like I had arrived to do what I knew I could do. And yes, every emotion, the exhilarating emotions just came out after I crossed the finish line.

You are the second Indian hurdler after Siddhanth Thingalaya to make the cut for Worlds. He achieved the feat in 2017 Worlds in London…

I don’t think it’s something to be proud about because I would have really hoped that there were more people qualifying and more people going to the championships. When more people from a country qualifies, it shows that you have more competition, it shows that you are a sporting nation. But if you are just the second by qualifying for the World Championships till date, it shows that we have very less competition in India.

We heard that you actually started as a long jumper?

I did a long jump competition in school like we all do in the beginning. I did gymnastics for a year. My gymnastics background really helped me in hurdles because it’s a technical event, and you need a lot of body awareness for it. So, being a gymnast, sometimes, I have a lot of body awareness.

Who were the coaches who shaped you?

It really happened on my own, but Poonam Rathore, the Physical Education teacher at my school. She really pushed me into pursuing athletics. And then, after that, I joined an academy in Chatrapati Sambhajinagar in Maharashtra under Surendra Modi. So, I trained there for one and a half years, and I got an u-17 national gold medal in 110m hurdles.

You joined Reliance Foundation Programme around three years back. How has it helped you shape your career?

I joined Reliance in late 2022, I was, at the time, I wanted to have somebody who can guide me, and also have some training partners. So female hurdler, Jyoti (Yarraji) was training under coach James Hillier (Athletics Director at Reliance Foundation). I looked at it as an opportunity to train with another athlete who is doing good as well. I heard a lot of good things about James and then we had a very good conversation on a phone call. That’s when I decided to join Reliance. They have really been helpful in a lot of things.

Of course, your immediate goal is to do well in Worlds. What is your long-term goal?

We are currently under a lot of back-and- forth planning. So, it’s nothing solid yet.

Any changes you have made strategy-wise and in fitness?

We have three phases of training. One is the off-season followed by mid-season and then competition. This year, I suffered a lot of injuries. So, we weren’t able to go through those phases properly. We weren’t able to train properly. Because of multiple injuries I had this year. But still, qualifying for the World championships, I look at it as a great positive.