Jyothi Yarraji- 1st Indian Ever to Qualify for Women’s 100m Hurdles Event at Olympics
Jyothi Yarraji:100m hurdles–India’s Olympic Contenders for Paris 2024-Part 8
Jyothi Yarraji, born on 28 August 1999, is a track and field athlete from Andhra Pradesh, India. She specializes in the 100m hurdles and currently holds the Indian national record. On 10 May 2022, she shattered Anuradha Biswal’s long-standing record with a time of 13.23 seconds, and has since broken the record multiple times.
Personal Information
Full Name: Jyothi Yarraji
Nationality: India
Born: 28 August 1999 (age 24)
Birthplace: Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India Height: 5 ft 7 inches
Sport
Country: India
Sport: Running
Event: 100m Hurdles Coach– James Hillier
Early life and education
Jyothi Yarraji, originally from Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, comes from a humble background. Her father, Suryanarayana, works as a security guard, while her mother is employed as a domestic worker. She completed her schooling at Port High School in Visakhapatnam old city and pursued higher education at a college affiliated with Acharya Nagarjuna University.
Her athletic journey began at the Sports Authority of India hostel in Hyderabad, where she trained for two years under coach Olympian N Ramesh, a recipient of the Dronacharya award. Subsequently, she moved to Guntur to join the Centre of Excellence. Since 2019, Jyothi has been under the guidance of British coach James Hillier at the Reliance Athletics High-Performance Centre in Bhubaneswar. https://www.instagram.com/jyothi_yarraji_/?hl=en
Achievements
Career Highlights
Asian Games 2022
Jyothi Yarraji achieved a significant milestone by winning the silver medal in the 100m hurdles at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. Initially disqualified for a false start alongside a Chinese athlete, she was later allowed to compete. After a review, the Chinese athlete Wu Yanni was disqualified, and Jyothi was promoted to the silver medal position.
Record-Breaking Indoor Performances
In early 2023, Jyothi shattered the national record for indoor 60 meters hurdles five times. She also secured a silver medal at the 2023 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Challenges and Comeback
The COVID-19 pandemic and a back injury significantly impacted Jyothi’s participation in events in 2021. However, she made a strong comeback in 2022. She represented India at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in the 100 meters hurdles and was part of the Indian women’s 4×100 meters relay team that finished 5th in the finals.
National Achievements
At the 2022 edition of India’s National Games, Jyothi won gold medals in both the 100 meters and 100 meters hurdles. On 17 October 2022, she became the first Indian woman hurdler to clock below 13 seconds, ranking as the second-best Asian in the women’s 100 meters hurdles that year and the 11th best Asian ever. At the 2022 Indian Open Nationals, she was named the best athlete among women.
Training and Coaching for Olympics 2024
Jyothi Yarraji, the current national record holder in the women’s 100m hurdles, made history as the sole Indian woman to medal in this event at the Asian Games, securing silver last year after bravely contesting a false disqualification. She remains the only Indian woman to achieve a sub-13-second time and boasts the 15 fastest runs by an Indian in this discipline. Her outstanding performance has also spurred three other women to surpass the long-standing national record set by Anuradha Biswal, which Jyothi shattered.
Earlier this year at the Motonet GP in Finland, Jyothi matched her personal best of 12.78 seconds despite a challenging collision with the final hurdle. She further showcased her dominance by clinching gold at the recent Senior Inter-State Athletics Championships, maintaining an undefeated record on home soil.
Coach
James Hillier
Jyothi Yarraji has been training under the guidance of British coach James Hillier since 2019. Hillier, based at the Reliance Athletics High-Performance Centre in Bhubaneswar, has played a pivotal role in honing Jyothi’s skills and guiding her to achieve national and international success in the 100m hurdles. https://globalbuzznetwork.com/indias-champions-at-paris-olympics-2024/
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