Hurdling her way to the top

As Jyothi Yarraji tore through the track, leaving her competition behind by the 30-metre mark, to secure a comfortable victory in the 100m hurdles, there was no surprise. The 23-year-old was the overwhelming favourite.

For Jyothi, this was expected because she had visualised it.

“I visualise before races… how I want it to happen. (Right) from how I go from here (hotel) to the ground…” she says a day after her record-breaking sprint.

Just like how she would have seen some comedy bites to relax and come up with a new hairstyle for the race.

“(I like to try) different hairstyles (for each race), I do it myself. It gives me confidence,” she laughs.

It is possibly an extension of her artistic expression. She paints and enjoys trying room decor and on the track, she is an artist - streamlined, efficient, no wasted movements.

Her time of 12.82 seconds at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium, on a nippy and rainy day, is the national record. She had gone even faster, 12.79s, at the National Games but with a tailwind of +2.5m/s, the record did not stand.

Records and Jyothi have had a strange relationship. Her first ever time going under the record was in the All-India inter-university meet in Moodabidri in 2020, where she was not dope tested and there was no AFI official.

Her time at the Federation Cup in Kozhikode this year was wind-assisted. She finally got the record at Cyprus International in May with a time of 13.23 and reduced it further four days later to 13.04 at Loughborough International. Then came the National Games and now this.

“I faced it positively only,” she says with a laugh. “If not today, one day it has to be done. I felt like I have the talent and I can do it anywhere.”

Her best official time, admittedly done in India where the competition is not going to push her, puts her among the top 43 sprinters in her discipline in the world this season. An even more flattering comparison would be that her time in Bengaluru would have placed her seventh at the Tokyo Olympics. One can safely argue that Indian athletics has two world-class athletes and less than a handful more at the rung below. Jyothi, if she keeps her consistency, can be among the former. Her immediate aim is to try and be in the finals of the big meets.

“I am slowly progressing, step-by-step. I went below 13 seconds. I’m happy about that. My team and I were working on posture, endurance and technique. I can reach better timings because there are small things I can correct,” she admits.

That confidence is a far cry from last season.

“Last season I had many injuries - hamstring strain and meniscus tear on my left knee,” she says matter-of-factly.

“When I started this season, I was so scared, I couldn't even hurdle. I couldn’t bend my knee for six months and hurdling was very painful. Coach James (Hillier, athletics director of Reliance Foundation Athletics Programme) and physio, helped me through it. The first two months were horrible because, at every step, I was scared of what could happen. But that was important, only then can you go to the next level.”

So what is the next level?

Hurdles has always been her first love.

“I started with hurdles. I have fallen many times, hurt my knee, hurt my chin and almost had surgery. In 2016 my leg hit the bolt inside the hurdle and my skin came off completely. Even a small imbalance or concentration lapse… It's so risky but I love to do hurdles,” she says like it makes perfect sense.

Training at the Odisha Reliance Foundation High-Performance centre, she will get all the support and expertise. Hillier feels her ceiling is much higher.

“It’s been a coming-of-age season for her,” says the Brit. “Based on her 100m time, she can go two-tenths quicker than this (in 100m hurdles) at the moment. But I feel she can run two-tenths quicker in the 100, so she can run scarily quick… 12.3-12.4... who knows? (But) She has to start believing she can do those numbers, and expand her mind to times that she, maybe, never even dreamed possible. Certainly, there is a lot more to come.”

That is for next season - a jam-packed year headlined by Asian Games and World Championships. Her National Games time is 0.01s off the World Championship qualification mark.

For now, Jyothi is looking forward to heading home and, at last, having that home-cooked rasam-rice. She is also on the lookout for new hairstyles. After all, there are many races to come.