After a late start, Tamil Nadu's Manav is making steady progress

CHENNAI: After overcoming injury setbacks, Tamil Nadu 's Manav Rajanarayanan is making a remarkable comeback, enjoying a medal-winning spree this year. The 24-year-old has secured three medals in national-level competitions, including two gold medals at the Federation Cup and Open Nationals respectively and a silver at the Inter-State meet . Notably, he also achieved a personal best time of 13.85 seconds in the Inter-State competition.

In particular, Manav's memorable performance came during the recently concluded Open National Athletics Championships in Bengaluru. Manav leapfrogged national-record holder Tejas Shirse and experienced Siddhanth Thingalaya to take the top spot in a competitive field.

"I was a bit scared before the tournament as I was competing alongside two national-record holders. I wanted to focus on my race and run to my potential and luckily it went my way. Siddhanth is a down-to-earth person and is very humble. He came and told me that I am doing good and motivated to perform better. Tejas also encouraged me and said that we can push each other and get better," Manav told TOI.

Manav, who took up athletics at the age of 17, has had steady progress. He won his first national-level medal in 2022 and since his career has been on an upward curve. "Until 2022, I was only competing in state-level competitions. I had the pressure to do well as I took up athletics pretty late and wanted to make a career. I somehow coped up to the pressure."

With several important events lined up in 2025, Manav will look to make a mark on the international stage. "My aim will be to qualify for the Asian Championships . If I can get close to 13.5s or 13.6s then I believe that I can qualify for the continental meet. I am not very far and I am trying to reach that mark," Manav said.

'Competition is getting healthier'

In the past few years, many athletes have breached the 14s barrier. Manav is one of the youngsters who has risen to the ranks. "I guess only 10 athletes have run under 14s in India. Five of these surpassed the 14s barrier after the Covid-19 pandemic . The performance in recent years have improved a lot and the competition has improved."