“I failed to give my best” - Tejas Shirse after missing the Paris Olympics 2024 qualification mark
National record holder Tejas Shirse is unhappy with his performance at the 63rd National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in Panchkula, Haryana. Shirse secured a gold medal in the 110m hurdles event at the Tau Devi Stadium with a new meet record of 13.54s.
Despite the gold, the 22-year-old failed to breach the Olympic qualification mark set at 13.27s. Shirse holds the national record in 110m hurdles, the feat he achieved at the Motonet GP, a World Athletics Continental Tour in Finland. He clocked 13.41s to break the former record of Siddhanth Thingalaya’s 13.48s.
The National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships was the final event for Indian athletes to qualify for the Paris Olympics 2024. With Shirse missing the qualification mark, he will now miss the Games as he is placed at the 57th spot, i.e., out of the top 32 Road to Paris rankings.
“It was like a final performance (for the Olympics). I failed to give my best. It (the words on the wrist) was just to motivate myself,” said Tejas Shirse (via Tribune).
“That doesn’t mean I will give up" - Tejas Shirse shifts his focus on future challenges
Tejas Shirse shed light on his preparations for the Paris Olympics 2024 qualification. Missing the Asian Games last year hit him hard, and he did his best to get close to the Olympic qualification mark as well.
“Seven months back, I was not even thinking about the Olympics. It all started at the last inter-state, where I could not qualify for the Asian Games. But then, I saw the race in Hangzhou and thought, ‘I could have been there.’ It triggered a lot of things," added Shirse (via PTI).
The Maharashtra-born athlete now shifts his focus to the challenges that lie ahead and is not willing to give up at any cost.
“That’s when I made a roadmap for getting to the Olympics, the first step being the national record, which happened recently. The next was the qualifying mark, which didn’t happen, but that doesn’t mean I will give up,” Shirse continued.