Indian hurdler Tejas Shirke grabbed the headlines at the Harry Schutling Games with a gold medal in the men’s 110-metre hurdles event. He completed the race in 13.56 seconds, which is a Personal Best for the 21-year-old. Competing against local hurdlers in the Netherlands, Tejas Shirse got the better of Joas Van Hellemondt and Jamie Sesay, who finished second [13.80 secs] and third [13.92 secs] respectively.
According to Sportskeeda, this was Tejas Shirse’s first senior-level stint in Europe. Having won the inter-state Athletics championship in 2023 with a 13.87-metre run, the Aurangabad hurdler is slowly becoming a big name in Indian Athletics. The current national record for the 110-metre hurdles is currently held by Sidddhant Thingalaya [13.48 secs.] Tejas is certainly closing in on the record and aims to breach the mark in future competitions to clinch his place in the upcoming Paris Olympics.
The hurdler still has a few months to push for a spot in the Paris Games. He is currently in great form, having achieved his PB at the Harry Schulting Games. The 21-year-old has been under Reliance Foundation and is training under the coaches there. He has had a history with a few injuries, but the organisation has done well to rehabilitate him and help him get back to being at his best on the track.
Jyothi Yarraji adds to India’s glory at Harry Schulting Games
Indian women’s hurdler Jyothi Yarraji added to India’s glory as she clinched the gold medal with a 12.37-metre finish in the 100-metre hurdles. She finished ahead of Dutch hurdlers Mira Groot (13.67s) and Hanna van Baast (13.84s).
Despite her brilliant timing, Yarraji missed out on an automatic Olympic qualification by one-tenth of a second. The qualification mark for the 100-metre women’s hurdles event is set at 12.77 secs. This happens to be the second time that Yarraji has missed out on the qualification. Her earlier attempt at qualifying came at the World University Games in Chengdu, where she finished the race at 12.78 secs.
With a few more competitions slated before the games, Yarraji will be hoping to make the qualifying mark and clinch the spot at the Paris Olympics.
