Exclusive! Asian Games 2023: Jyothi Yarraji draws inspiration from Sydney McLaughlin as history beckons in Hangzhou

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Asian Games 2023: An AFI foreign coach couldn't help himself but approach Jyothi Yarraji to let the Indian hurdle queen know how impressed was he by her maiden 400m run at the Indian Grand Prix.

The coach seemed confident as he said, "Jyothi, I see all the quality of a good 400m runner in you and I don't see any reason why you wouldn't be clocking sub-52 timings soon with a little bit of work". (Follow Yarraji's Action Updates Here)

One may perceive it as an invitation by the coach to train with him or just an appreciation of a good talent, the 100m hurdler has been among the fastest athletes that the country has produced and is a hot property that everyone wants a piece of.

Apart from her dominant show in her forte event, which saw her rewrite the national record (12.78 seconds) several times in the last one year, she also became the first Indian hurdler to clock sub-13 timings. The 24-year-old hurdler in fact has been the crown jewel of the Reliance Foundation Programme under chief coach James Hillier in Mumbai.

Jyothi Yarraji on trying trying her hands, or legs rather in 400m

Jyothi has stressed in the past that 100m hurdles will always remain her priority but doesn't mind trying her hands in the flat events whenever her coach suggests. However, appearing for the 400m event, where the race strategy takes prominence unlike dash to the finish line in sprints, Jyothi made it clear once and for all why she appeared for the 400m.

Taking inspiration from Sydney McLaughlin

"I always wanted to compete in 400m since I competed in 300m earlier," Jyothi Yarraji told myKhel in Chandigarh three weeks ago. "But that's about it, I am not thinking much beyond it. Competing in multiple events may surprise people in India but abroad somebody like Sydney McLaughlin competes in multiple events and so do many of the athletes there."

400m hurdles world record holder Sydney McLaughlin, whose name requires no introduction as one of the finest athletes produced by the USA, has competed in several sprint events throughout her career, including the 60m dash at the World Indoor Championships in the first quarter of the year.

For Jyothi Yarraji, it has been a busy year so far with the track and field star running 43 races so far this year across various disciplines, including the indoor season. Some even have a fear of burnout from excessive participation in too many events. However, coach Hillier believes the best way to nurture an athlete is to make them compete as much as possible.

"She is arguably the fastest athlete in the country and is capable of running all of the 100m, 200m, and 400m flats," said coach Hillier during an interaction in Ranchi back in May. "I have always told her (to) run as much as you can, if there are four races available to run in an event, I won't mind if she runs all of them."

History Beckons Jyothi Yarraji in Hangzhou 2022

However, at the Asian Games 2023, the focus will be only on the 100m hurdles as history beckons the strong medal favourite as India's first hurdler to achieve the feat. The expectations of a medal in Hangzhou in fact have been brewing since she breached the sub-13 timing for the first time last year.

It was further affirmed when she won her maiden silver at the Asian Indoor Championships in Nur Sultan followed by gold at the Asian Championships in Bangkok in July. Also Read: Atanu Das set to tackle recurve events armed with new mentality and renewed vigour

She is in fact only among the nine athletes in Asia to clock below 13 seconds while the second fastest in the continent behind China's Wu Yanni. Another Chinese Lin Yuwei set the standard for the 100m hurdles final (slated on Sunday) with a brilliant 12.79 seconds timing to top the heats while the Indian clocked 13.03 seconds.

"Asian Games 2023 has always been my objective for the season and the idea of being the first Indian to win 100m hurdles inspires me more. If we succeed it will be the payoff of all the hard work the coach, the Reliance (Foundation) coaching staff, and I put in all these months," she concluded.