National Games 2025 Athletics: Tejas Shirse shatters the 110m hurdles meet record; wins his third consecutive gold medal

India’s top hurdler, Tejas Shirse, continued his dominance in the men’s 110m hurdles, clinching a gold medal at the National Games 2025 on Sunday, February 9. Competing at the Ganga Athletics Ground, Maharana Pratap Sports College, the 22-year-old shattered the meet record, reaffirming his position as the country’s finest in the event.

Representing Maharashtra, Shirse clocked an impressive 13.65 seconds in the final to not only secure the gold medal but also better his previous National Games record of 13.71 seconds, which he had set during the 2023 edition. With this victory, he has now won gold in three consecutive National Games editions - 2022 (13.84s), 2023 (13.71s), and 2025 (13.65s).

Shirse is also the national record holder in the men’s 110m hurdles, having clocked 13.41 seconds at the Motonet GP in Finland in May 2024.

The 110m hurdles final witnessed a competitive field, with Manav Rajanarayanan of Tamil Nadu securing the silver medal with a time of 14.03 seconds. Muhammed Lazan of Kerala claimed the bronze, clocking 14.23 seconds.

Meanwhile, former national record holder and 2015 National Games champion Siddhanth Thingalaya was also in the race but could not finish.

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Tejas Shirse’s exceptional start to the 2025 season

Tejas Shirse’s performance at the National Games 2025 adds to what has been an exceptional season for him so far. The young sprinter had already made headlines earlier this year by breaking India’s seven-year-old 60m hurdles national record.

Last month, the 22-year-old rewrote the national record in the 60m hurdles twice in a single day at the CMCM Luxembourg Indoor Meeting, clocking 7.65 seconds. He then improved it further to 7.64 seconds at the Elite Indoor Track Miramas Meeting, setting a new national record.

With the National Games gold added to his achievements, Tejas Shirse now has his sights set on bigger goals, including qualification for the Asian and World Championships, which require timings of 13.56 seconds and 13.27 seconds, respectively.