Clearing hurdles is nothing new to Siddhanth Thingalaya as he works towards his Olympic dream

Jumping past hurdles is something most Indian athletes have to invariably do in their career, if they want to make it big in a sport like track and field. For Siddhanth Thingalaya, it is not just something he needs to do figuratively - clearing hurdles is how he makes his living as an athlete.

The Indian hurdler, owner of the national record in the 110m event, wants to prove himself at the biggest stage of them all. Everything he does, it’s done with one objective in mind - Olympic Games. Even if a bit far-fetched, he is clear that his mission is to stand on the podium in Tokyo at the 2020 Games. If he does indeed qualify for the event, he will be the first Indian in 56 years to complete in 110m hurdles event. The last Indian to do that was Gurbachan Singh Randhawa, who finished an impressive fifth at the 1964 Summer Games in Tokyo.

It’s a long road ahead, one that begins with the IAAF Indoor World Championships in Birmingham starting on Friday. He will be part of the 60m hurdles and is the only Indian who will be participating in the Championships.

Turning towards NFL for help

To help him achieve the Olympic dream, the Maharashtra lad who recently turned 27, has been training under the guidance of National Football League (NFL) speed coach and former hurdler Gary Cablayan. Cablayan has coached the likes of NFL players John Ross, DeSean Jackson, Jayon Brown, among others.

“When I met Cablayan for the first time, he told me not to run fast. I was stunned,” said Thingalaya, who moved to the United States about four years ago. “We eventually restructured my running technique and worked on my action as well. We then started working on my start and made sure that I can reach maximum explosiveness during the second jump to gain the upper hand,” he added. Cablayan then started working on his jumps across hurdles and mended his technique to save that extra second.

“Once my basics were sorted we trained on hurdle jumps. Now my technique is more precise and to the point,” said Thingalaya.

Technique sorted. Constraints remain.

Financial struggle

The biggest hurdle for Thingalaya is to gather the funds required to continue training in the United States under Cablayan.

Thingalya requires Rs 15 lakh to continue his current regime and is leaving no stone unturned in his attempt to reach the figure. The Maharashtra government has given him Rs 5 lakh under the Mission Olympic Scheme.

“The amount is still not enough. However, something is better than nothing and I am thankful for the government for their support,” said Thingalaya. An employee of ONGC, the salary he draws from the company goes into the rent he has to pay in Los Angeles, California - his training base.

“Rent is expensive plus flight tickets also cost a lot as I compete in events across the globe. However, I have started a crowd funding scheme and I am trying to raise funds through that now,” said Thingalaya. “We have gathered around Rs 50,000 till date and that too from close family and friends,” he added.

His parents stay in Mumbai, Andheri and while his dad has retired from the bank, his mom is still a cashier. “They support me because of my passion for the sport. All their savings have gone into my training and that isn’t right because they don’t enjoy their life. They cut down on things they want to do like travel. So I am hopeful this crowd funding scheme will trigger something,” said Thingalaya.

Getting results

Thingalaya is planning to approach corporate houses as well to gain sponsorship ahead of the Olympics. His recent run in competitions across the US is impressive - the 27-year-old has come won three 60m indoor hurdle events out of the four he has participated in. In the first race, on January 27, 2018, Thingalaya came second with a timing of 8.4 seconds behind the US National champion Chris Coleman. In the other three races, he clocked a time of 7.84, 7.87 and 7.83 respectively.

Next up is the World Indoor Championships. Thingalaya qualified for the event with a time of 7.70 seconds in 2017 in Seattle but recently got a confirmation by Athletics Federation of India to participate in it, as the governing body reportedly sent the concerned documents to the IAAF only at the very last minute, leaving Thingalaya constrained for time.

Scheduling woes

However, after competing in the World Indoor Championship, Thingalaya will immediately fly down to India to participate in the Fed Cup that begins on March 5 in Patiala or Delhi. He will participate in the 110m hurdles, which is an outdoor event. The transition is bound to be tough.

“If I was told about my participation earlier I would have scheduled my training program better. But regardless I will compete in the Fed Cup since I want to participate in the Commonwealth Games. Plus the more races I run the better for me. The transition from indoor to outdoor hurdles is not tough for me,” said Thingalaya.

Crucial two years

Thingalaya does have an issue to sort out before his event at Birmingham and Fed Cup. “My explosive start off the blocks has not been great. It is a bit loose plus I also hit a few hurdles in the process. But I have started working on it and things are looking up. I have worked on my start block and the bounce that I take. Plus I have marked the distance I take from the first and second step to maximize my explosiveness. I am ready now,” said Thingalaya.

It is going to be a crucial phase in Thingalaya’s career with the Indoor Worlds, followed by the mandatory Fed Cup. Should things go as per plan, he will make the cut for the Commonwealth Games and also participate in the Asian Games.

“I will be much stronger during the Asian Games because all the selection hassles will be over and I will have enough time for preparation. Olympic medal is the dream. Plus the 2019 Outdoor World Championship in Qatar is something I am looking forward to as well,” said Thingalaya, who missed out on the Rio Olympic berth by a whisker.

For now, Thingalaya is readying himself in Birmingham after a few weeks of running around for his visa approval and other paperwork. Such is the life of an Indian athlete.