Athlete Jyothi Yarraji | For the record

A few weeks ago, Jyothi Yarraji got a tattoo inscribed on her forearm. It reads ‘Hope’, a feeling she thrives on.As the favourite for the 100 metres hurdles at the Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok in July, she was hopeful of making her mark at the meet. And though she slipped after the seventh hurdle, she took top spot in 13.09 seconds. The timing was far from her then national record (12.82 seconds), but for the first time, a female Indian hurdler had won the 100m hurdles gold at the meet.Two days later, Yarraji managed silver in the 200m in a time of 23.13 seconds. This time around, it was a personal best effort, the fifth race this year where she had improved on her own mark. Then, on August 4 at the World University Games in Chengdu, Yarraji clocked 12.78 seconds and landed bronze in the 100m hurdles, breaking her own national record in the process.“I’m happy with what I’ve achieved, but not so much with the timing because I know I had worked well and had even got personal bests during training,” says Yarraji of her hurdles performance. She is well aware of her current potential. Since May, she has attained sub-13 seconds on seven occasions. The feat is momentous, considering she’s still the only female Indian hurdler to breach the mark. “I am more confident today. There was a time when I was really scared to do the hurdles because of injuries,” she says.After being sidelined through most of 2021, she returned to the track last year, unsure of what was in store for her. Under British coach James Hillier, she started rebuilding, and at a meet in Cyprus in May 2022, broke the 100m hurdles national record for the first time after clocking 13.23 seconds. She signed off the year by registering her personal best that was eventually bettered in Chengdu.“There was a lot of pressure on her because she had broken the national record on a couple of occasions, though it was declared a wind-assisted effort. That gold in Cyprus was her saying I’m actually good at this. I believe she became an athlete that day and has gotten much faster since then,” says Hillier.The Reliance Foundation Odisha High Performance Centre in Bhubaneswar is their proving ground. Yarraji’s progress has been carefully monitored by Hillier alongside a young support team. “The Reliance Foundation has been my pillar of strength. It’s been a team effort since there are so many people working behind the scenes—a nutritionist, physiotherapist and strength and conditioning coach. None of this would have been possible without them,” she says.It was only earlier this year that the 200m was added to Yarraji’s list of events. Hillier realised she had some good qualities on flats and it could help her build speed for her primary event, the 100m hurdles. “I never really prepare for sprints, just focus a bit on the technique. When we work on the base speed for hurdles, that’s all the sprinting I do,” says Yarraji.This year, Yarraji has had a packed calendar, competing at meets in India and abroad. Hillier has put her through a regimented yet mindful training system, followed by rest and rebuilding. “We share a good working relationship that has evolved over time—from me calling the shots to a healthy partnership today,” says Hillier. With the World Championships and Asian Games coming up, this duo will be riding on a lot more hope, just like the rest of the nation.Edited By: Shyam BalasubramanianPublished On: Aug 11, 2023

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