Asian Games 2023: Jyothi Yarraji wins silver in women’s 100m hurdles after false start drama

India’s Jyothi Yarraji finished third in the women’s 100m hurdles with a false start review delaying official declaration of the podium at the Asian Games on Sunday.

Jyothi Yarraji | Photo Credit: RITU RAJ KONWAR

India’s Jyothi Yarraji won silver in the women’s 100m hurdles after false start drama at the Asian Games on Sunday.

The race began with intense drama following a false start that saw China’s Wu Yanni get off to an early start. Yarraji followed the trigger movement from Wu who was in the lane next to her on the left. Officials called on Wu and Yarraji to rule them out for a false start which the Indian contested vehemently.

After a length discussion with the officials, Yarraji and Wu ran the race subject to a review. Yarraji’s start was slower than she otherwise would have managed, but she compensated in the the middle of the race as she fought to come in third with a timing of 12.91s.

After the race was over, the review process continued, delaying the official declaration of results. Yarraji was eventually awarded silver with Wu disqualified according to TR16.8 [the rule regarding false starts].

Recovering from Budapest heartbreak

Brushing aside the disappointment of finishing seventh in the heats in the recent Worlds in Budapest where she clocked 13.05s, compared to her national record of 12.78s, Jyothi turned her attention to a good showing in Hangzhou.

 the women’s 100m hurdles, where Jyothi Yarraji is a strong contender for gold. Her rivalry with Japan’s Mako Fukube — second to Fukube among the fastest hurdlers in Asia — is intense, yet Yarraji’s impressive season-best time of 12.78 seconds places her 40th in the world rankings, underscoring the global competition’s intensity.

Jyothi earlier said that she was yet to be satisfied with any of her performances. “I Just cannot say this or that has been my best. For I am not the one to sit back on the past achievements. Determined to record better timings every time I run,” she said with a big smile.

“I have been working on some technical aspects to ensure the desired all-round improvement,” Jyothi told Sportstar ahead of the Asian Games.

“Yes, my career-graph took an upswing after joining James Miller Sir. The reasons being he focussed on many aspects like posture, style of running, weight training and importantly worked a lot on mental and physical conditioning,” she said.

“I have to keep really working hard to realise the ultimate goal of making it to the 2024 Paris Olympics,” she added.