Visa hurdles almost cost Siddhanth trip
BIRMINGHAM: Siddhanth Thingalaya was almost on the verge of not making it to the World Indoor Championships, here in Birmingham.
However, unlike a few other athletes whose itinerary might have gone haywire because of the cold and chaos in Europe, Thingalaya’s problems had to do with his visa. The Indian hurdler got his visa on the day of travel, the uncertainty ruling out the chances of his coach travelling with him.
“The (Athletics) Federation (of India) had to speak to the IAAF at the last minute. Had there been a delay of even a day, I don’t think I would’ve got the visa. I reached here on March 1.
“An athlete needs to reach much in advance to acclimatise to the conditions, get used to the track, etc .
But I can’t blame anyone,” he said, shortly after his warm-up session here at the Arena Birmingham on Friday.
The 27-year-old will take part in the 60m hurdles and aim to eclipse his national record of 7.7 sec. However, given the problems he’s faced, getting his composure back would be his priority. “I was hungry as I didn’t have a meal pass… I came late, so couldn’t get access to the dining hall. I didn’t want to go out because of the terrible weather. I was hoping someone could manage a little bit for me,” he added.The hurdler, who trains in California and hardly spends time in Mumbai, is a foodie. “I have to lose around 5kg for the outdoor season. I genuinely like Indian food, but I have to resist the temptation. I have a lot of organic stuff,” he said. “I love vada pav. But my favourite is daal and rice and Mangalorean fish fry.”
Thingalaya’s journey started as a football player until his coach asked him to work on his speed.
“I used to be a centre-half for which you require speed. So, my coach back then advised me to join a summer camp at the Andheri Sports Complex. That’s where I started to work on my speed. Soon, I developed a liking for sprinting because I started winning inter-school competitions, which made me famous.”
An unknown Parsi veteran became his inspiration to become a hurdler. “I met him at Priyadarshini Park. I wanted to imitate his strides.
I found it tough initially as I didn’t have the technical know how when I competed at the state level. “I used to wear football shorts and slippers to these meets. I didn’t win the first time I competed at the state level.”
There were occasions, Thingalaya admits, he had to learn the technique reading books. An impressive showing at the 2010 CWG did attract a few sponsors but by 2015 he was all on his own.
But he is motivated. “My goal is to improve my timing. I have the speed. Now, I need to run like I’m running for my life.”