Jyothi Yarraji pens heartfelt note after qualifying for Paris Olympics 2024

Jyothi Yarraji is set to become the first Indian 100m hurdler to compete at the Summer Games. 

History beckons for the Indian athletics contingent at Paris Olympics 2024. After having announced herself in style at the Asian Athletics Championships 2023 by winning gold in women’s 100m hurdles, Jyothi Yarraji is now set to make her Olympic debut.

Yarraji, silver medallist at Asian Games 2022, qualified for Paris via the world rankings quota. The World Athletics released the list of athletes who qualified for Paris Olympics on June 2 (Tuesday). Out of the 40 athletes who made the cut in the women’s 100m hurdles, Jyothi was ranked 34.

Earlier this year in a Finland meet in May, Yarraji clocked 12.78 seconds just one-hundredth of a second outside the automatic qualification time of 12.77 seconds. During the event, she tore her quad muscle putting her Olympics dream in jeopardy. But it was her sheer resilience and determination which propelled her to accomplish her dream.

On Friday, the 24-year-old took to social media to share her thoughts on making the contingent for Paris. In an emotional Instagram post, Yarraji spoke about her journey and converting her Olympic dream into reality. “A week before Inter State I hurdled for the first time, and 3 days before Inter State I went over 10 hurdles for the first time in 5 weeks. Thankfully at Inter State I managed to run heat and final and run 13.06 which with how my preparation was one of (if not) the best race of my life,” she said in her post.

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A post shared by Jyothi Yarraji (@jyothi_yarraji_)

Not only is this a proud moment for the athlete and her family, who have endured many challenges and made significant sacrifices, but it is also a pivotal moment for her coach, N. Ramesh, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) athletics coach.

Commenting on the accomplishment, Coach Ramesh spoke about the existing inequality between men and women in the field of athletics and how the effort put have borne fruit.

“Well, I remember those days when people used to make fun of me when I was training her at the Hakimpet Sports School and telling them that I was preparing for the Olympics. So, it is no mean achievement for an Indian athlete to make it to the Olympics and that too in hurdles because it is such a technical event,” an emotional Ramesh was quoted as saying by Sportstar.

Also Read: AFI name Indian athletics contingent for Paris Olympics 2024

Jyothi Yarraji’s heartfelt note after qualifying for the Paris Olympics 2024 highlights not only her personal triumph but also her never give up attitude will serve as a source of inspiration for millions of aspiring young athletes in India. As she looks forward to representing her country on the grandest stage, her story reminds us of the power of perseverance and the dreams that fuel our passion.

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