Tejas Shirse battles stress fracture to make historic Commonwealth Games final

History and heartbreak unfolded within hours for Tejas Shirse at the Commonwealth Games on Monday as the Indian hurdler became the first from the country to reach the men's 110m hurdles final before seeing his medal hopes shattered by a stress fracture sustained moments before the race.

Shirse, 24, had earlier clocked 13.76 seconds in the heats to script history by becoming the first Indian to qualify for the Commonwealth Games final in the event. But during his warm-up ahead of the medal race, he suffered a navicular stress fracture in his left foot.

Despite the setback, the Maharashtra athlete refused to withdraw. With his foot heavily strapped, he took his place on the starting blocks and completed the race in visible pain, finishing eighth in 15.39 seconds before hobbling off the track.


"In the warm-up, I suffered a navicular stress fracture in my left foot. I didn't want to pull out, so I told my physio to tape it," Shirse told PTI.

"I am the first Indian to qualify for the 110m hurdles final at the Commonwealth Games, so I didn't want to let the whole nation down by pulling out."

The injury took its toll almost immediately after the race began.

"I thought I would stop after the first hurdle, but the adrenaline was so much that I could complete the race. But the moment I crossed the first hurdle, I knew it was gone. I am not able to put pressure on it at all," he said.

Shirse was seen limping after the race and struggled to walk while speaking to reporters.

The hurdler said the injury was a recurrence of an earlier problem and that it was too soon to determine whether it would affect his participation at the Asian Games, scheduled for September-October.

"This is not a new injury. It had happened earlier also. I will have to get scans first and then see."

Looking back on his performance in the heats, Shirse believed he was capable of much more before the injury intervened.

"My heat was okay. My body had become cold. It was not the best performance. I know there was a lot more in the tank. I did warm up for the final but it didn't go as per plan," he said.

Shirse entered the Games in excellent form after setting a national record of 13.27 seconds at the Indian Athletics Series 9 in Ludhiana last month. His historic qualification for the Commonwealth Games final marked another milestone for Indian athletics, even as the injury denied him the chance to challenge for a podium finish.