New Delhi: Jyothi Yarraji is just not recognized for explosive begins. The 25-year-old usually begins regular and surges within the latter half of the race. It’s not essentially the most typical rhythm, nevertheless it has served India’s high hurdler properly.
Jyothi Yarraji defended her Asian Championships title with a sub 13s run in Gumi, South Korea. (Corbis through Getty Photographs/File)
Sticking to her acquainted technique on the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea, on Thursday, Yarraji clinched gold within the 100m hurdles with a time of 12.96s, breaking the Championship document held by China’s Yun Feng (12.97s) since 1998. Japan’s Yumi Tanaka and China’s Wu Yanni, each clocking 13.07s, adopted. Yarraji was the one athlete to dip beneath 13 seconds within the chilly and moist situations.
Beginning in Lane 7, she was sluggish off the blocks and remained within the backside two till the fifth hurdle. Then, her trademark acceleration kicked in. She breezed previous her opponents, surged into the lead on the eighth hurdle, and crossed the end line in high gear. Her roar of celebration quickly adopted.
“I don’t usually shout in happiness. I’ve shouted in sadness before, but this celebration was a first,” she mentioned. Her vocal celebration mirrored the importance of the second for Yarraji, who’s coming off a hamstring pressure that disrupted her coaching final month.
She had entered the Nationwide Federation Senior Athletics Competitors in Kochi—a compulsory qualifier for Asian Championships—removed from peak health, but gained with a time of 13.23s. The Athletics Federation of India’s qualifying mark was 13.26s.
As soon as qualification was secured, Yarraji below the Reliance Basis’s Athletics Director James Hillier, started coaching for her title defence on the Asian Championships. Whereas observe time was restricted on account of her harm, she centered on power work within the fitness center, turning into stronger and leaner. However her race readiness remained unsure.
“She’s faster, fitter, and leaner than before. Her body fat percentage is at its lowest ever. She’s hit some PBs in the gym, but I wouldn’t say she’s completely race-fit. This competition came about three weeks too early for us,” mentioned Hillier.
Moreover her latest lack of sub-13s runs—she hadn’t clocked one since Might 2024—Yarraji additionally needed to deal with the situations in Gumi. A torrential downpour delayed the ultimate by almost two hours, forcing her to heat up in a makeshift storage room beside the observe.
“We had a horrendous downpour. Just as Jyothi was about to warm up, the heavens opened. A huge thunderstorm hit, temperatures dropped, and the competition was postponed for two hours. She ended up doing warm-ups in a storage room. It was absolutely crazy,” Hillier recalled.
Standing in a cramped 10-meter space with barely sufficient room to stroll, Yarraji started visualising the race. Whereas some opponents grew pissed off, she stayed calm and centered, drawing on her expertise.
“I used the delay to visualise—how I’d start off the blocks, how I’d go over the hurdles, everything. I knew if I stayed with the girls after the first few hurdles, I’d have a strong chance of winning. I focused deeply, and didn’t let my mind wander,” she mentioned.
Although she didn’t have the World Championships qualifying mark of 12.73s in thoughts, she felt able to working 12.70s, which might have been a private greatest (PB) and a direct ticket to September’s Worlds in Tokyo. Her present PB stands at 12.78s.
“Had it not been for the conditions, I would have run 12.70s. That’s how good I felt,” she mentioned.
Hillier, nevertheless, insisted that they weren’t chasing time. “I just wanted her to run the race. It was freezing, there was a headwind, and the track was a bit slow. The focus was on winning, not on chasing time.”
Yarraji can also be set to compete within the 200m at this meet. Afterward, she and Hillier will head to Taipei for the Taiwan Athletics Open, a World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze occasion. As soon as again in India, they’ll think about technical coaching, notably to enhance her early race acceleration.
“We’ll spend a few weeks in India preparing, then head to Europe. By then, I’m confident she’ll be attacking the first five hurdles faster. That’ll set her up even better for the back end of the race,” Hillier mentioned.