Jyothi Yarraji claims first gold for India at Asian Athletics Championships 2023

The 25th Asian Athletics Championships is being held in Bangkok, Thailand. The second day (July 13) of the continental event has started on a good note for India. Jyothi Yarraji has grabbed the gold medal in the women's 100m hurdles final.

The 23-year-old athlete finished the race in just 13.09 seconds to clinch the first gold medal for India at the ongoing Asian Athletics Championships. She looked quite strong right from the beginning, although it was raining.

In the women's 100m hurdles, the silver medal went to Japan's Asuka Terada whose timing was 13.13 seconds. Another Japanese athlete, Masumi Aoki, took home the bronze medal. She completed the race in 13.26 seconds.

The young Indian athlete Nithya Ramraj secured the fourth position in the final, with a timing of 13.55 seconds. Earlier today, she came third in her 100m hurdles heat as she clocked 13.53 seconds to enter the final.

It is noteworthy that Jyothi has been a consistent performer in the 100 meter hurdles. In 2022, the sensational track athlete won gold at the Cyprus International Athletics meet with a timing of 13.23 seconds. Later that year, she came first in the 100m hurdles at the 2022 National Open Athletics Championships as she took just 12.82 seconds to complete the race.

Yarraji is in superb form this year also as she clocked 12.92 seconds to clinch gold at the National Inter-State Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar. At another athletics event, the 2023 Federation Cup, she won gold with a timing of 12.89 seconds. The talented athlete would now look to perform well at the upcoming Asiad.

Performance of Indian athletes so far at Asian Athletics Championships 2023

The Indian squad has been able to put up a decent performance so far. On the first day, Abhishek Pal won bronze in the men's 10,000 meters final and today Jyothi has clinched gold in women's 100m hurdles.

In the meantime, the Indian contingent at the Asian Athletics Championships will aim to increase the medal count of the country. A lot more track and field action still awaits on the second day.