CHENNAI: In the moments leading up to the swearing-in ceremony at the adjacent Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium — where chief minister designate C Joseph Vijay was scheduled to take oath in front of an ecstatic crowd on Sunday — the outdoor stadium, largely quiet in the morning, heard a loud roar.
"We're back!, first is back!," cried men's 110m hurdles national record holder Tejas Shirse after a photo-finish with Reliance teammate Krishik M. He clocked 13.43 seconds in Final D of the men's 110m at the Indian Open Athletics Series, only two tenths slower than his national record which was posted in May, 2024.
With the latest performance, he breached the qualification mark (13.63s) for the Asian Games, scheduled to be held in Japan later this year. However, his selection for the Asiad would be decided after June's Senior Inter-state meet in Bhubaneswar.
His wait for the timings to show on the screen was worth it. After the loud celebration, Shirse, trying to recover from the run, explained how the last few months have been difficult. Shirse took part in two World Athletics Silver-level indoor meets in Europe in January 2026, before suffering an ankle injury. Shirse has had scores of injuries and has dealt well with both the physical and mental difficulties that come along with it. However, this injury, he said, was the most difficult to recover from.
"Those four months were very difficult. All that time, I was just thinking about giving up and all. I have fought my hardest battle during this injury because I went to Europe and my performance was really bad because I was fighting with an injury. Due to that, it was really difficult for me to be in my right headspace," he told this The New Indian Express after his run. "It was something unexpected. I was running in very good shape and that broke my momentum. I was running well within 13.3 seconds. But, it was a low blow."
What stood out from his assessment of the last few months is what happened right after he recovered from injury. "I just trained for three weeks. In that given time, if I can do a 13.43, that is great for me because I know the only way from here is forward. I even twisted my ankle during warm-up," he explained.
Those at the Reliance Foundation were the ones who helped him battle the pangs of injury. "My head coach James Hillier, My S&C coach Kshitij (Bhoite), Nilesh (Makwana) my physio and Durva (Vahia), my performance analyst. These four were my pillars during recovery," he added.
With only one domestic event under his belt, Shirse hopes that he gets to take part in the Senior Athletics Federation Competition later this month in Ranchi. "After this event, I'm flying to Riyadh for the Saudi Arabia Continental Tour on May 15," he said. With the Athletics Federation of India mandating athletes to take part in two AFI-recognised events before the Federation Competition, Shirse revealed that he has sent an email seeking an exemption of the same to participate. "I've mailed them. I haven't received any reply yet. But hopefully I make it to Ranchi," he added.
For now, Shirse's run is a statement of sorts. Battling yet another injury, Shirse has stamped his authority ahead of a gruelling season. "The only thing I want to say is this is my sport. This is my game, and I'm not going without giving a fight," he said.
Coach reveals work behind success
This outcome was more a relief than anything else for coach Hillier. "He's the sort of guy that's fully invested. He's 100% in or 100% out. So, we had to manage him more emotionally rather than physically," he said on the sidelines of the event.
But the plan was to make Shirse feel like an athlete during this injury period. "I said, 'listen, Tejas, I don't want you to be moping around like an injured athlete. You're an athlete and you're going to be doing this training rather than that training.
"And he managed to buy into it eventually. It's tough for him because he wants to hurdle all the time, and it was difficult. But ultimately, he did that and he's now reaping the benefits," he said.
Tough outing for Sreeshankar
M Sreeshankar did not have the best of days at the long jump pit as he had to battle the hot, evening sun here to jump 8.04m. The 27-year-old from Kerala found it difficult to go past 8.10 metres, as three of his six attempts were deemed illegal. "In one of the jumps, I had the slightest of touches on the foul board. But the good thing is I was able to jump around 8.30m on such attempts. I just need to get on the board," he said.
However, he has fulfilled the AFI's mandate of taking part in two national-level competitions before the Federation meet in Ranchi.