Injured Shirse finishes last, but makes India proud in historic 110m hurdles final

When Tejas Shirse became the first Indian to qualify for the men's 110m hurdles final at the Commonwealth Games, expectations were high until he suffered an injury.

However, the national record holder was not ready to back down and competed in the event, but finished last in the medal race after clocking 15.39 seconds.

He could have done more had it not been for the injury. The 24-year-old Shirse finished third in Heat 1 with a time of 13.76 seconds and qualified for the final as the sixth-fastest overall. His national record of 13.27 seconds came during the Indian Athletics Series 9 in Ludhiana last month.

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

"I am the first Indian to qualify for the 110m hurdles final in the CWG, so I didn't want to let the whole nation down (by pulling out)," he added.

Shirse said it was too early to comment on his chances 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," he said.

Shirse had finished third in Heat 1, which was topped by overall leader Samuel Bennett of England in 13.20 seconds.

The first three finishers in each heat and the next two fastest runners advanced to the final.