Mumbai: Tejas Shirse has grown to dislike the word “potential” in sporting parlance.
“It’s a fancy word to say you haven’t done anything yet,” he explains. “We all say, ‘This guy has potential’. But, have you done it yet? I don’t want to be called someone with good potential. I want to be called someone who has done it.”
What the 23-year-old from Maharashtra has done so far in his career is set national records in 110m hurdles (13.41s, 2024) and 60m hurdles (7.64s, 2025). What he’s yet to do is translate that potential into something more tangible in terms of silverware and accomplishments on stages that matter.
A combination of injuries, poor timing and performance dips has largely kept Shirse away from major world or continental competitions over the last couple of years.
The 2025 Tokyo World Championships, where he qualified as the last and 40th entrant and finished 6th in his heat clocking 13.57s, was a rare appearance on a big stage. This year’s Asian Games is where he hopes to find his breakthrough moment on a big stage.
“I hope so. Ek breakout toh hona chahiye (Should at least have one breakout),” he said.
There’s cautious optimism in his tone. For, whenever Shirse has earmarked events for his “breakout” moment over the last two years since setting the national record, he’s ended up missing it. From the Asian Championships of 2023 and 2025, to the World Indoor Championships and World University Games of 2025. From tears in both hamstrings to stress fractures on his foot to osteitis pubis, “eight injuries in the last four years,” as Shirse vividly recounts in chronological order, haven’t helped.
Shirse therefore entered a lengthy training block after September’s Tokyo Worlds to work on his body. Three solid months into it, a familiar stumble occurred.
In late December, he sprained his right ankle after hitting a hurdle at his training base in Ulwe, Navi Mumbai. Although scans allayed initial fears of it being career-threatening, the ankle flared up while competing in a meet in France on January 30. Shirse and his team, comprising coach James Hillier and others at Reliance Foundation, made the call to pull out of the Asian Indoor Championships from February 6.
Another addition to the long list of missed events.
“It stinks, sometimes,” Shirse said. “I’m still dealing with it. I haven’t found an answer yet. It gets harder with every competition (that I miss).”
Shirse gained muscle mass and reduced fat during his post-Worlds training block, with the aim to be at his best possible shape in 2026.
“One minor thing, one mistake, and… it’s very hard that I have to repeatedly go through the process. But, if I keep at it, keep working, I think it is preparing me for something bigger, a larger stage.”
This season features the Commonwealth Games (CWG) and Asian Games. Shirse is eager to have a shot at both. However, the ankle — which will still take two to three weeks before he can start jogging again — presents a dilemma.
“If I get eight weeks of full-fledged training, it should be enough to run well and try to qualify for CWG (the Federation Cup in May is the final qualifying event). But I’ll not drag myself, because that will reduce my chances of having a good block for the Asian Games.”
Shirse is eyeing a consistent training block of 3-4 months before the Asian Games in September-October. He had 10 days’ training heading into the Worlds, and his first taste among the elite made him feel like he belonged.
“I went there as the 40th ranked, and ended up 29th, with only 10 days of training,” he said. “The Worlds experience gave me validation – that whatever me and my team are doing, is on the right track. We have to keep doing it. Just better. Be more accountable, be more on point.”
Shirse believes qualifying for the Asian Games – AFI’s mark is 13.63s – shouldn’t be a problem. “Chinese and Japanese athletes are running 13.1-13.2 consistently. I have to be in that position,” he added. “But, if I get three full months, I can get there.”
And if he does manage to get to Japan in September, could it be the “breakout” that Shirse has been yearning for?
“It could be. I can’t say it will be. Because I’ve missed eight competitions thinking that way. I will do everything in my power to get to that line and have no regrets,” he said. “And then, we’ll see whether the potential turns into something.”
