By Tazeen Qureshy
Bhubaneswar: Siddhant Thingalaya has raised India’s hopes of a medal in the 110 metres hurdles event though he settled for a third place finish in the heats to qualify for the finals. The Mumbaikar, who has already qualified for the World Championships scheduled later this year, says though early qualification has lessened the pressure, he has to better his performance.
“There is always a pressure to make it to the finals. I could have performed better in the qualifier today, but couldn’t do it. But a final is a final. I will definitely better my performance,” a confident Siddhant told Kalinga TV after his heats.
“I had a lot of travelling to do – to USA, Mumbai and here. May be that affected my performance a bit. But I am here to win gold, nothing less,” he said.
Siddhant, who has been training with American coach Gary Cablayan in California, says the only advice his coach gives him before crucial races like finals is on technique.
The hurdler is particiting in am event in which India was last represented Olympics by Gurbachan Singh Randhawa in the 1964 Olympics. Last year, Sidhhant had failed to make the cut for the Rio Olympics due to wind conditions. However, the Mumbaikar is now hoping for a better result in London.
“Last year was disappointing. But now I need to concentrate on World Championships. I am trying to go to London as early as possible and hopefully get something good out of it. I also have two races in Europe which will help me shape up for the big one at world championships,” he added.