Visakhapatnam athlete Jyothi Yarraji wins gold in women’s 100m hurdles at Asian Athletics Championships

Visakhapatnam-based athlete Jyothi Yarraji made India proud by clinching gold in the women’s 100m hurdles at day 3 of the 26th Asian Athletics Championships held in Gumi, South Korea. Clocking an impressive 12.96 seconds, Jyothi not only dominated the field but also defended her title in style, setting a new championship record in the process.

Despite a chaotic build-up to the final, including a two-hour delay due to a storm and strong headwinds, the 24-year-old hurdler from Visakhapatnam remained focused. As the race finally got underway at 10:20 pm local time, her competitors, Japan’s Yumi Tanaka and China’s Yanni Wu, had quicker starts. However, Jyothi’s strength lies in her ability to recover and gain momentum mid-race. By the eighth hurdle, she had closed the gap, and with a powerful final surge, she crossed the finish line ahead of the pack, reaffirming her status as Asia’s reigning sprint queen.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Sports Minister Mandipalli Ramprasad Reddy congratulated Jyothi on her historic achievement. “Her performance is a proud moment for our state and a beacon of inspiration for young athletes,” said Minister Mandipalli Ramprasad Reddy. The Chief Minister also expressed confidence that Jyothi would bring home more laurels for India in the future.

Jyothi’s journey to the top has been anything but easy. Hailing from a humble background, her father Suryanarayana worked as a security guard, while her mother Kumari has spent years toiling as a domestic worker and hospital cleaner in Vizag. Her rise from modest beginnings to becoming India’s fastest woman hurdler, with a national record of 12.78 seconds,  is a story of unrelenting ambition. Currently ranked 24th in the world in her event, Jyothi continues to break barriers, both literal and symbolic.

Apart from Jyothi Yarraji winning gold in the women’s 100m hurdles category, day 3 of the Asian Athletics Championships saw a string of other successes for India. Avinash Sable delivered a stellar performance in the men’s 3000m steeplechase, winning gold with a season-best time of 8:20.92. With this, Sable became the first Indian man in 36 years to clinch steeplechase gold at the Asian Championships, joining legends Harbans Singh (1975) and Dina Ram (1989). Already a two-time Olympian and Asian Games champion, Sable holds the national record in the event and had previously won silver at the 2019 edition in Doha.

India’s golden run continued with the women’s 4×400m relay team comprising Jisna Mathew, Rupal Chaudhary, Kunja Rajitha, and Subha Venkatesan, securing the top spot with a season-best of 3:34.18. Their victory rounded off a triumphant day, with India bagging three golds, two silvers, and one bronze, pushing the nation’s overall medal tally to 14.

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