Jyothi wins the 100 m hurdles event at the Asian Championships 2023
The 23-year-old, who is regarded as having a remarkable skill, is the only woman in India to run under 13 seconds, and she did so six times just this year. She had timed 12.98 seconds in the Bangkok heats.
The Asian Athletics Championships were being held in Bangkok on Thursday, and India’s top track and field prospect, Jyothi Yarraji, won the women’s 100 metre hurdles race, earning her nation’s first-ever gold.
But when she crossed the finish line, Jyothi appeared upset. James Hillier, her coach, attributed it to her time, which was 13.09 seconds on the clock, which was adequate for first place but not quick enough for the hurdler who had high expectations for herself.
The 23-year-old, who is regarded as having a remarkable skill, is the only woman in India to run under 13 seconds, and she did so six times just this year. She had timed 12.98 seconds in the Bangkok heats.
“I had done a great job of planning, and I thought today was going to be my day, but the rain was pouring.” After the seventh hurdle, I lost my footing a little bit and couldn’t run very fast. Today was supposed to be a new personal best. But I’m glad I got a medal, and I’m very proud of my consistency,” Jyothi said following the race.
The journey of the Andhra hurdler has been difficult, particularly in the early years when her mother worked as a hospital cleaner and her father as a security guard.
In her early years, Jyothi’s younger coach N Ramesh gave her money for bus tickets so she could go from her home in Visakhapatnam to the sports dormitory in Hyderabad. She also received financial assistance from veteran athlete and Railways employee Karnatapu Sowjanya.
Ticket collector on the local Secunderabad-Lingampally route, Sowjanya used to work there. “Since the stadium where she exercised was close to Linampally, I used to leave money with a coworker at the ticket window. After training, Jyothi would arrive and collect it. I wanted to give back because when I first started playing sports, my seniors would pool their money to buy me spikes. Sowjanya, who was a member of the 2010 4x400m Asian Indoor Championship gold-winning squad, expressed his gratitude for helping the appropriate person.
Jyothi is currently a Target Olympic Podium Scheme athlete and is also funded by the Reliance Foundation, a long cry from her early days of hardship.
The leader of the Asia season was the favorite to win the championship in Bangkok, but the terrain proved challenging for all of the hurdlers. When Jyothi cleared the seventh of ten hurdles at the Supachalasai Stadium, she almost fell over because she lost her balance.
Although the race wasn’t fair, she ultimately prevailed, and that is what counts. On the seventh hurdle, she came close to falling, but I believe it was okay.