Back in form with a national record-equalling performance after a "horror show" in the Commonwealth Games, high hurdler Siddhanth Thingalaya feels he stands a bright chance of winning a medal in the upcoming Asian Games.
Thinaglaya has been one of the most talented Indian athletes to have come up in recent years since breaking into the scene by smashing the 110m hurdles national record with a 13.81 secs run in 2010 as a 19-year-old.
He has since improved his own national record to 13.65 secs in 2012 before equalling the same two days back in the Federation Cup Senior National Athletics Championships in Patiala. His effort came on a slow track at the NIS which was laid in 2011 but worn out considerably due to hot climatic conditions.
"I feel I am in my top form after injuries and indifferent form. I want to win a medal in the Asian Games and that will be a big achievement. I think I can do it," Thingalaya told PTI in an interview.
Thingalaya's 13.65 secs effort put him in the fifth position among Asian athletes in the IAAF season leaders' list. Chinese Xie Wenjun is at the top with 13.23 secs followed by Kuwait's Mandeel Abdulaziz (13.56secs) and two Japanese athletes Masund Genta (13.58secs) and Yazawa Wataru (13.59secs).
"I feel I can run below 13.60 secs and that should hopefully put me in medal contention in Asian Games. I could have cut down on my timing (in the Federation Cup race in Patiala). I landed flat after clearing the seventh or the eighth hurdle and so lost time," he added.
The 23-year-old Mumbai lad, who stands six feet three inches on his feet, suffered injuries in 2012 and 2013, which had affected his career and he failed to make it to the final round of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games after clocking 13.93 secs.
"It was a horror show. I was really disappointed with my performance in Glasgow. I never expected to clock 13.93 secs. At the worst, my timing on the average has been late 13.7 or early 13.8. That also (Glasgow timing) after I recovered from the injury," he said.
