It had rained a few minutes earlier and the track appeared wet as the women lined up for the sprint hurdles final at the recent 25th Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok.
There was a bit of drama, with China’s Wu Yanni being sent off for a false start. The Chinese hurdler was not happy about it and argued with track officials.
This distracted the others to some extent too.
But Jyothi Yarraji kept her cool on the big stage. She was focused, and despite Japan’s experienced Asuka Terada taking a small early lead, the Indian came back strongly in the last few hurdles to pull off a sensational victory. It was India’s first-ever gold in the women’s 100m hurdles in the championship’s 50-year history.
When it came to the Asian Championships, the Japanese and the Chinese had been dominating the women’s sprint hurdles.
And Jyothi, who has been moulded into a fine hurdler by James Hillier at the Reliance Foundation, wrote a new chapter.
Rare gold
It was perhaps one of India’s most memorable performances at the Bangkok Asians. India’s haul of 27 medals (6 gold, 12 silver, and 9 bronze) was only behind Japan (37) and China (22). Indians came up with some fighting performances on their way to gold, like Ajay Kumar Saroj’s (1500m) and Parul Chaudhary’s (women’s 3000m steeple chase) smart end-game strategy and the fine running by the last two legs in the 4x400m mixed relay that staved off the strong Japanese challenge.
Consistent performer
Flight to Paris: Murali Sreeshankar has qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics after winning a silver medal in the Asian Athletics Championships with a second career-best effort of 8.37m in Bangkok. | Photo Credit: Sudhakara Jain (file photo)
Triple jumper Abdulla Aboobacker, the Commonwealth Games silver medallist, again proved that he could be a consistent performer by taking the gold, while shot put Asian record-holder Tajinderpal Singh Toor retained his title despite suffering from groin pain.
Quality-wise, the best performance came from long jumper M. Sreeshankar. Though he could only win a silver (behind Taipei’s Lin Yu-Tang, gold, 8.40m), the Commonwealth Games silver medallist’s 8.37m in Bangkok was the fifth-best jump in the world this year. The Kerala athlete now owns two of the five best jumps in the world this season after his 8.41m at the Inter-State Nationals a month earlier, the world’s second-best jump this year.
Strange happenings
There were some strange happenings, too, just as the Indian team was about to leave for Bangkok. Anjali Devi, who had not run a 400m race in nearly three-and- a-half years, clocked a stunning 51.48s — the fastest by an Indian woman this year and the third fastest in Asia — to take the quarter-mile gold at the Inter-States. But she failed a dope test taken on the day of her triumph.
Sprinter Archana Suseendran and shot-putter Karanveer Singh, the No. 2 in their respective events in the country this year, also tested positive for illegal substances and were dropped from the team.
Calculations upset
It looks like the change of dates — the Inter-State Nationals were advanced by nearly a month — upset many calculations.
All these played havoc with the Indian team, and with long jump world leader Jeswin Aldrin, triple jump Asian leader Praveen Chithravel, and javelin thrower Rohit Yadav pulling out with fitness issues, India could field only a single athlete in some of the events where it was among the continent’s best.
Disappointing bronze
Tough outing: India’s top javelin thrower, Annu Rani, managed a best of 59.10m to finish fourth. | Photo Credit: B. VELANKANNI RAJ (file photo)
Though India has won gold at the last five editions of the Asian Games in the women’s 4x400m relay, beginning in 2002, the country could only pick up a bronze in the event in Bangkok, with Vietnam and Sri Lanka taking gold and silver.
There was a big disappointment as well with Annu Rani, who had entered the final of the last two World Championships. She failed to finish among the medals in the women’s javelin throw. Annu, a medallist at the last two Asians, had to break her training in Germany with visa problems. She came fourth in Bangkok with 59.10m. There was a big upset there, with Japan’s Marina Saito shocking China’s Olympic champion Liu Shiying to win the gold.
Shanti Veronica makes history
Singapore’s Shanti Veronica Pereira surprised everybody by emerging as the fastest woman and finishing with a golden double by taking the 200m too. Singapore had not won any medals in the last six editions of the Asians, and it was the first time it had taken a sprint title at the Continental meet.
Bahrain, which topped the table at the last Asians in Doha in 2019, stayed away, while China, which will host the Asian Games in September in Hangzhou, did not field a strong team. So, the final medal table did not present a clear picture.
With the Asian Games just about two months away, there is much work to do.
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