As the FISU World University Games, more commonly known as the Universiade, are currently underway in Chengdu, China, several Indian athletes have shined and won more than 20 medals. Jyoti Yarraji, an Indian hurdles athlete, has qualified for the gold medal race at the event and will vie for the top spot in the finals. In the quarter-final, Yarraji finished right at the top of her 100m hurdles heat in just 13.12 seconds. Then in the semis, the result was no different, and she topped the race once again, this time in just 13.05 seconds, thus booking herself a slot in the finals.
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She also clinched two medals, a silver and a gold, at the recently concluded Asian Athletics Championships. The silver medal was achieved in the 200m running category, where she completed the race in 23.13 seconds. She lost the gold medal to Singapore’s Shanti Pereira, who finished the race in 22.70 seconds, just 0.43 seconds less than Jyothi. But she made up for it by clinching the gold medal in the 100 metres hurdles category, defeating Japan’s Asuka Terada and Masumi Aoki by narrow margins, who finished in second and third place, respectively.
On August 28, 1999, Jyoti Yaraji was born in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. Suryanarayan, a private security guard, is Jyoti Yaraji's father. While her mother works as a hospital cleaner. The physical education teacher had recognised Jyoti Yaraji from her school days after witnessing her commitment and diligence. He thought Jyoti was of good height to become a hurdler based on her height.
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Jyoti's journey to becoming an athlete began from this point. The 24-year-old will now participate in the finals of the FISU World University Games in the 100m hurdles category. She will be pitted against some of the World’s best young athletes, which include the likes of Viktória Forster, Anna Toth and Yanni Wu.
