Bengaluru Hurdler Yashas Palaksha Wins Federation Cup Gold, Qualifies for CWG

Bengaluru athlete Yashas Palaksha qualified to represent India at the 2026 Commonwealth Games after winning the gold medal in the 400m hurdles at the Federation Cup in Ranchi in May. The 24-year-old clocked a time of 49.00 seconds to secure his spot on the national team, recording the second-fastest time ever achieved by an Indian hurdler in the discipline.

Palaksha faced significant pressure entering the Federation Cup, where he needed to finish first or second against the top hurdlers in the country to qualify. Running on the track in Ranchi, which he cited as his favourite, he delivered a gold-medal performance that brought him close to the national record of 48.80 seconds.

The son of daily wage workers from Bengaluru, Palaksha turned to athletics as an accessible route to international sporting success. He initially competed in the high jump, winning national-level gold medals in the event. During the lockdown period, when competitions were suspended, his coach suggested transitioning to the 400m distance. Palaksha chose the 400m hurdles to avoid running multiple races in a single tournament, leveraging the similar rhythm required for both high jump and hurdles.

His qualification marks a turnaround after enduring three consecutive years of recurring injuries and recovery periods. Following an injury during the 2023 Asian Championships final, he recovered but finished fifth at the Asian Games later that year. In 2024, a hamstring injury sustained during the national Olympics camp sidelined him for the entire year, forcing him to miss the Olympic Games. While preparing for subsequent championships, he was further delayed by Achilles tendonitis.

Palaksha is currently training in Mumbai as he prepares for the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. To boost his performance, he is working on improving his hurdle technique to trim an additional 0.5 to 0.6 seconds off his race time while focusing on remaining injury-free.