With hurdles bronze, Shourya underlines her potential

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.

In Patna last month in her first 100m hurdles appearance, she had clocked 14.55s. In the intervening four weeks, the teen not only trained for the Asian Championships but also caught up with her Board exams. “We trained for a timing between 13.70-13.85, which is a massive improvement,” Kulkarni said.

That progress is even more commendable considering the difficulties the young athlete encounters just to train. Shourya hails from Thane, a vibrant area near Mumbai that showcases luxurious high-rises yet lacks a proper synthetic athletic track. The Dadoji Konddev Stadium, once featuring a track, now primarily accommodates cricket games. Kulkarni operates his academy at a Thane club, but the 30m space for hurdles is only useful for a few temporary days.

Thus, with no nearby locations to visit, Shourya and Kulkarni frequently travel nearly 50km to Bandra in suburban Mumbai, or to Ghatkopar, or even 150km to the Balewadi Stadium in Pune for their daily training sessions.

Inspired by American 400m hurdles world record holder Sydney McLaughlin, the 15-year-old too has lofty aims. “This season, I want to keep improving my times. In the long term, my dream is to represent India at the Olympics and win a medal,” Shourya said.