New Delhi: Reigning Asian champion Jyothi Yarraji won a gold medal in her first race of the season with a national record. She emerged victorious in the 60m hurdles event by clocking 8.04 seconds at the Elite Indoor Meeting in Nantes, France.
The 25-year-old broke her own previous national record of 8.12 seconds twice in a few hours on Sunday, January 26. Jyothi first clocked 8.07 seconds in the heats and then broke her record in the final at the Stadium Pierre-Quinon in the World Athletics Indoor Tour bronze-level meet.
But her timing is still short of the qualifying mark for the World Indoor Championships, which will be hosted by China in March. The timing to qualify for the event is 7.94 seconds. Jyothiraj was recently honoured with the Arjuna Award as she won the gold medal in the 60m hurdles in the Asian Indoor Championships in 2024 with a timing of 8.12 seconds in Tehran, Iran.
The 25-year-old also holds the record of 12.78 seconds in the national outdoor 100m hurdles. She is the current 100m hurdles Asian champion and won the silver medal in the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou with a timing of 12.91 seconds.
Tejas Shirse wins bronze in men’s 60m hurdles event
Tejas Shirse won the bronze medal with a timing of 7.68 seconds in the men’s 60m hurdles event. This was his second race of the season. He had set a national record time of 7.65 seconds at the CM Indoor Meeting in Luxembourg on 19 January. Siddhanth Thingalaya held the previous national record in the event with a timing of 7.70 seconds. The 22-year-old is also the national record holder in the 110m hurdles event with a timing of 13.41 seconds.
Both Jyothi and Tejas are currently on an overseas exposure tour in Europe. Jyothi ahead of her first competition of the year, trained with the Netherlands team in South Africa. Both the players will be in action at the National Games next month in Uttarakhand.
Jyothi Yarraji started her season brilliantly as she set a new national record in the women’s 60m hurdles event in France. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
