Asian Games 2023 Athletics: Jyothi Yarraji, Murali Sreeshankar through to hurdles, long jump final

Five Indian athletes in respective events progressed to the final in the morning session.

The athletics action began early in the morning on September 30 at the Asian Games 2023 with athletes vying for a place in the finals. Star Indian athletes, Jyothi Yarraji, Murali Sreeshankar among other Indian athletes qualified for the final and secured their spots in the medal matches in their respective events.

First up, in the men's long jump qualifications, India's Murali Sreeshankar leaped a remarkable 7.97 meters in his very first attempt and secured a direct qualification to the final having breached the automatic qualification mark set at 7.90 meters.

Countrymate, Jeswin Aldrin started with two fouls in his first and second attempts and the pressure was on for his final jump. The national record holder finally managed to register a distance of 7.67 meters in his third and last attempt.

This distance didn't secure him an automatic qualification, it did push him into the second position within his group and fifth overall. Jeswin qualified for the finals being among the top 12 competitors in the event.

On the women's side, Jyothi Yarraji competed in the women’s 100m Hurdles heats. Despite a slow start, Yarraji displayed her incredible speed and finished second in her heat with a time of 13.03 seconds. This exceptional performance secured her a spot in the highly anticipated women's 100m hurdles final.

However, she found herself trailing behind China's Yuwei Lin, who set a personal best with a time of 12.79 seconds.

Meanwhile, Nithya Ramraj in the same event competed in heat 2 of the women's 100m hurdles. Although she finished fifth in her heat with a time of 13.30 seconds and clinched a place in the final as the second-fastest loser.

Overall in the morning session, India celebrated another remarkable achievement in the men's 1500m as Ajay Kumar Saroj delivered an outstanding performance to finish second in his heat with an impressive timing of 3:51.93. This remarkable display secured his spot in the final where he will be joined by the defending champion, Jinson Johnson who finished fifth in his heat with a time of 3:56.22 and secured an automatic qualification spot.

With Murali Sreeshankar's impressive performance in the men's long jump and Jyothi Yarraji's remarkable display in the women’s 100m hurdles, it's evident that these Indian athletes are in excellent form and prime contenders for medals.