Yarraji is making a statement - one hurdle at a time

Bengaluru: The final of the women’s 100m hurdles at the 26th Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea on Thursday evening was delayed due to a thunderstorm. 

India’s Jyothi Yarraji, the favourite to defend her title, decided to use the additional time for visualisation drills and an extended warm-up session in a cramped storage room. She then came out on track to deliver a statement-making performance with a competition record.

The 25-year-old sprinter from Andhra Pradesh started slow off the blocks before picking up pace midway and finished in a dominating fashion to clock 12.96 seconds that erased the previous meet mark of 13.04 seconds jointly held by Kazakhstan’s Olga Shishigina (1998) and China’s Sun Yawei (2011).   

“The officials came and said that there was going to be a delay of two hours. So, I started thinking about how positive I could be,” Yarraji said during an online chat after the race. 

“And I knew being brave at such times would have benefits. So I kept moving,” she added. 

That strategy paid dividends as she topped the podium with a better time after clinching gold in 13.09 secs in the 2023 edition. Her personal best and national record, though, stands at 12.78 secs.

“100 percent I wanted gold. But I focussed on timing because when you focus on a medal too much, you feel pressurised.

“I had never shouted so much in all these years after the race. I mean, with happiness. I have shouted 2-3 times before with sadness. But this time, with happiness, I celebrated nicely,” offered Yarraji. 

The season for the runner started off with two gold (200m and 100m hurdles) at the 38th National Games in Uttarakhand in February. She then clinched gold in 100m hurdles and a silver in the 200m event at the Indian Grand Prix in Bengaluru in March before being sidelined for three weeks due to a hamstring injury. Despite the break, the 5ft 6-inch athlete finished on top of the podium in the 100m hurdles at the Federation Cup. 

Yarraji’s maiden sub-13 seconds performance in the current season two nights ago wasn’t enough to breach the World Championships qualifying mark of 12.73s. However, coach James Hillier is more focussed on making technical improvements, especially from the start to the five first hurdles, in his student. 

“We are still playing around with the start. She was doing seven strides indoors but wasn’t getting to where we wanted her to be. So we have gone back to eight strides now. The benefits of it is to get her into the race rhythm a bit earlier. 

“It's a work in progress. Speed and strength are there. But hurdling isn't quite there yet. But the confidence she has got from this now is obviously massive and I think she will really push on from this. The rest of the season is going to be exciting for sure,” said Hillier. 

On a cold, chilly Thursday night, Yarraji thumped her chest with a clenched fist, then raised it before the start of the race — a silent signal that she was here to leave an indelible mark. And the next stop in that pursuit for the hurdler is Taiwan Athletics Open on June 7 and 8.

Jyothi Yarraji (centre) is all smiles on the podium after winning gold in the 100m hurdles with a meet record time of 12.96 seconds at the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi South Korea on Thursday. AAC MEDIA