No hurdle too high for Shourya as she pursues greater success

The build-up to the Asian meet was tough but the 15-year-old from Thane found a way to medal

- Rutvick Mehta

MUMBAI: Shourya Ambure took a bit of a risk to have a shot at competing in the ongoing Asian U-18 Athletics Championships. For starters, the hurdler gave two Class 10 papers a miss to turn up at last month's National Youth Championships in Patna, which doubled up as a selection meet for the Asian event. Plus, the 100m hurdles event was still a bit alien for the 15-year-old heading to Saudi Arabia for her first international competition.

"She is transitioning from U-16s to U-18s, going from 80m to 100m hurdles," said her coach Ajit Kulkarni. "To get into the rhythm for 100m, you need to train well and compete on a regular basis. She ran just two races before going for this competition."

And yet, Shourya will return with a bronze medal from the Asian age-group meet, clocking a personal best timing of 13.80s to finish behind China's Bao Yinyin (13.71) and He Yihui (13.76).

"It feels surreal. This was my first international meet, and to come back with a PB and a medal is such a proud moment," Shourya said from Dammam.