When 24-year-old Yashas Palaksha, India’s fastest active 400m hurdler, recalls how he first decided that athletics would be his life, he does not tell a story about a deep feeling of puzzle pieces clicking into place or an ecstatic realisation after a win or prodigal display of talent. Instead, the story begins with circumstances that blocked paths until this one opened up. “People in my family were getting their degrees but I knew it wasn’t for me. I knew I wouldn’t get any money to start a business or buy a cricket kit. But I used to have a lot of interest in sports so while trying to find something that could make me globally successful while not spending too much – I found athletics,” says Palaksha, in a matter-of-fact tone. Now, the son of daily wage workers, is one of the athletes from Karnataka representing his nation at the Commonwealth Games.
The hurdler did not just meet the qualification requirements; he made the India team with a splash at the Federation Cup, in Ranchi, in May, clocking 49.00 seconds for gold, the second-best time by an Indian hurdler ever (the best is close, at 48.80 seconds). Recalling the moment, Palaksha says, “Ranchi is a really good track and my favourite, so I expected a very good race. But I was feeling a bit pressured because I needed to be first or second to qualify and was competing with the top hurdlers in the country.” He adds with a laugh, “But since I was used to losing already, I thought, ‘Let’s go and see what happens. That attitude helps a lot – why worry about the future? Just stay in the present.”
This attitude has been earned after three years of injuries and recovery periods right after the other, starting at the 2023 Asian championships, shares Palaksha, “I recovered from that injury but tired myself out at the Asian Games (placing fifth). Then, at the Olympics camp in 2024, I had a hamstring injury and missed the whole year, including the Olympics. I thought of working on the 2025 World Championship and Asian Championship, only to get Achilles tendonitis,” shares Palaksha.
This low period even made Palaksha consider if he had made the right choice switching from the high jump (which he had won national-level gold medals in). “We didn’t have any competitions during lockdown. My coach suggested trying the 400m but because I didn’t want to run three races in a tournament, I tried out hurdles,” grins Palaksha, adding, “Starting it was very easy, hurdle and high jump both have the same rhythm. But when I got injured at the 2023 Asian Championship final, I wondered if I should have stuck to high jump.”
What kept him going was simple. “I enjoy the sport a lot,” he says, adding, “When you love something so much, you look at it positively. I tell myself ‘I’m still young, I can still play till I’m 33’.” With this hard-earned resilience, he has been taking the 2026 season by storm and training in Mumbai for the CWG and Asian Games, with one thing in mind. “I want to remain injury-free. I’ve also been trying to improve my technique so I can get 0.5 to 0.6 seconds faster,” says Palaksha,adding, “The rest, gold, silver or bronze, is up to fate.”