Fact Check: Has Jyothi Yarraji won gold medal at Asian Games 2023?

A viral video on social media claims Jyothi won gold at the Asian Games.

India's star hurdler Jyothi Yarraji is scheduled to be in action soon at the ongoing Hangzhou Asian Games 2023. The national record holder is scheduled to participate in two events - 100m hurdles and 200m and is one of the favourites to medal in her primary hurdles event. However, before the start of the continental meet, a video is making rounds across social media on her winning the gold medal at the Asiad.

The video has been shared by legendary singer Asha Bhosle's account on X (formerly Twitter). The caption in the video stated, "Heartiest congratulations to Yarraji from Andhra Pradesh for winning the Gold for 100mts hurdles at the Asian Games." She isn't the only celebrity to post it though. Many other, including former cricketer Gautam Gambhir, several politicians and influencer accounts have jumped the gun on congratulating Jyothi on her "non-existent" medal win.

As it turns out the video is fake and is from a three-month old competition where Jyothi did win gold. The video was from Jyothi's gold medal winning run at the Asian Championships 2023 held earlier in July. In the past few hours, the video has garnered huge engagement with over 1.7 lakh views.

Jyothi Yarraji clinched gold by clocking 13.09 seconds at the Asian Championships and prior to the final subbed below 13 seconds in the heats. In the following month at the World University Games, the 22-year-old won a bronze medal and, in the process, broke her own national record by clocking 12.78 seconds, but she missed out on qualifying for the Paris Olympics by a mere 0.01 seconds.

In the past year, the athlete from Andhra Pradesh has been making giant strides under the guidance of coach James Hillier. Till now, Jyothi Yarraji has broken her own national record 5+ times and all her records have been made since the start of 2022. Apart from just winning a medal at the Asian Games, the athlete will look to breach the Paris Olympics 2024 qualifying standard as this will be one of her last races this season.

She will be accompanied by fellow countrymate Nithya Ramaraj in the 100m hurdles.

Viral video claims Jyothi Yarraji won gold at the Asian Games 2023

Has Jyothi Yarraji won gold medal at Asian Games 2023?

No, Jyothi Yarraji has not won any gold medal as yet and the information is incorrect. In fact, Jyothi Yarraji is yet to make debut at the Asian Games and will be making her maiden appearance in this edition of the continental showpiece.

The viral video shows Jyothi's run in the 100m hurdles final at the Asian Athletics Championships in July and her subsequent celebration after clinching the top honour. At the Asian Games 2023, athletics events are yet to start at the ongoing quadrennial extravaganza.

When will Jyothi Yarraji be in action at Asian Games 2023?

Jyothi Yarraji is scheduled to compete in 100m hurdles on September 30th followed by 200m on October 1st, 2023. She is among the favourites to clinch a medal at least in 100m hurdles at the Asian Games 2023.