Krishik M: India’s New Sprint Hurdles Star Rising Under James Hillier’s Guidance

Indian athletics may have just witnessed the beginning of a new era in men's 110m hurdles. At the Indian Athletics Series-6 in Tamil Nadu, national record holder Tejas Shirse made a sensational return from injury, clocking 13.43s.

Right behind him came another big story as National Indoor Champion Krishik M stormed to a massive personal best of 13.44s, becoming India's all-time second fastest man in the event. The timing was not just a personal milestone. It was historic.

For the first time ever, Indian soil witnessed two athletes running under 13.45s in the same race. Krishik's 13.44s pushed him ahead of former Indian star Siddhanth Thingalaya on the all-time list and also placed him eighth on the 2026 Asian lead rankings. But for Krishik, the performance was about much more than numbers.

"It's great to be back. I'm feeling good about this timing, and the year has also started on a positive note for me," Krishik told myKhel in an exclusive interview. "All these years, Tejas was running alone, but now we are running together and pushing each other. That's the main goal to raise the standard of Indian 110m hurdles."

The 13.44s performance did not come overnight.

Krishik revealed that he battled injuries for nearly three years, including a Grade 3 tear in his rectus femoris muscle that kept him away from proper hurdle training for a long time. At one stage, even access to quality training facilities became a challenge.

"Things were not going in my favour, and I also didn't have proper ground facilities in my hometown (Tumkur)," he said. "It took me almost two years to recover completely."

His journey began to change after joining coach James Hillier, the athletics director at Reliance Foundation. Under Hillier's guidance, Krishik focused on improving explosiveness, reaction time, and consistency. "The only agenda James sir gave me was to trust the program, and everything would come with time," Krishik said.

The progress has been remarkable. Earlier this year, Krishik clocked 7.71s in the 60m hurdles at the National Indoor Championships before improving to 13.87s at Indian Series-1. Now, just months later, he has smashed through the Asian Games qualification mark with 13.44s.

And according to him, this is only the beginning. "We expected this timing," he said. "We planned to improve by 0.01 seconds every month. In the next competition, I'm aiming for an even better time."

The rivalry between Krishik and Tejas Shirse is now becoming one of the most exciting stories in Indian athletics. Instead of competition creating pressure, both athletes are motivating each other to run faster.

"After the race, Tejas Shirse was very happy," Krishik revealed. "In fact, he was happier about my timing than his own because, for almost four to five years, he had been running alone. Now, we are competing against each other and fighting to break the national record."

Krishik is now just 0.02 seconds away from Tejas Shirse's national record, and he has made his ambitions clear. "Breaking the national record is my main and first goal this year," he said. "And once I achieve the national record, I want to go even faster and finish on the podium at this year's Asian Games."

Next up for Krishik is the Saudi Athletics Grand Prix in Riyadh on May 15-16, a World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze meet where the rising hurdler will once again test himself against international competition.

Indian hurdling has waited years for depth and rivalry at the top level. Now, with Tejas Shirse and Krishik M pushing each other beyond limits, the event is entering its fastest phase ever.