Jyothi hails from Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. Her father, Suryanarayana, works as a security guard, while her mother is a domestic help. She completed her schooling at Port High School in Visakhapatnam old city and pursued higher education at a college affiliated with Acharya Nagarjuna University.

She later joined the Sports Authority of India hostel in Hyderabad, training for two years under coach Olympian N Ramesh, a Dronacharya awardee. Subsequently, she moved to Guntur to join the Centre of Excellence. Since 2019, she has been training under British coach James Hillier at the Reliance Athletics High-Performance Centre in Bhubaneswar.

Career Highlights

Jyothi's career highlight came when she won the silver medal in the 100m hurdles at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. Initially disqualified for a false start along with a Chinese athlete, she was later allowed to compete. After a review, Chinese athlete Wu Yanni was disqualified, promoting Jyothi to silver medal position.

In early 2023, she broke the national record for indoor 60 metres hurdles five times and won silver at the 2023 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan. Despite virtually no participation in events during 2021 due to Covid-19 and a back injury, she made a strong comeback in 2022.

Recent Achievements

Jyothi represented India at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in the 100 metres hurdles and was part of the Indian Women's 4 X 100 metres relay team that finished fifth in the finals. At the 2022 National Games of India, she clinched gold in both the 100 metres and 100 metres hurdles events.

On 17 October 2022, Jyothi became the first Indian woman hurdler to clock below 13 seconds. This achievement made her the second-best Asian in women's 100 metres hurdles for that year and the eleventh best Asian ever. At the 2022 Indian Open Nationals, she was adjudged the best athlete among women.

Future Plans

Looking ahead, Jyothi aims to continue her training under coach James Hillier and improve her performance on international platforms. She plans to participate in upcoming global competitions and further enhance her skills in hurdling.

Jyothi Yarraji's journey from Visakhapatnam to becoming India's top hurdler is inspiring. Her dedication and achievements have set new benchmarks in Indian athletics.