There was a time — not so long ago — when Jyothi Yarraji didn’t have the essentials a budding athlete needs. She didn’t own proper running shoes. She often didn’t have enough money even for the nutritious meals that fuel champions. So, she asked. She asked neighbours for help, borrowed what she could, and sometimes relied on the kindness of community members to get her through days when hunger and hard training collided. Her parents — her greatest supporters in spirit — simply could not support her financially. Her father worked as a security guard. Her mother was a housewife. There were no sponsors, no big-money benefactors, no silver spoons. Only determination.
And yet she ran. And she kept running. Because somewhere in her bones, she knew she was meant for something bigger.
VISAKHAPATNAM BEGINNINGS: A SCHOOL THAT CHANGED HER LIFE
Born on 28 August 1999 into a humble household in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, Jyothi’s journey didn’t start with medals or accolades — it began with a physical education teacher who saw something extraordinary in her 15-year-old self. At Port High School in Vizag, she was that energetic, enthusiastic kid — the one who ran, jumped, and took part in every activity possible. Sport came naturally to her: all energy, all passion, all heart.
It was here — on the dusty school grounds — that her athletic spark was lit. It was the first turning point in a life that would soon reach pinnacles no one from her neighbourhood could have imagined. “I was an active kid in school, who was enthusiastic to take part in all activities and events. That’s how I got into athletics in school,” she said in a telephonic interview.
SAI HYDERABAD: THE FIRST LEAP INTO PROFESSIONAL TRAINING
Jyothi moved to the SAI (Sports Authority of India) centre in Hyderabad in 2016. For the first time, she trained with professional coaches. She was part of a fresh batch of young athletes — many just as hungry as she was. She began with basic conditioning and soon found her calling in hurdles, a demanding track event that combines explosive speed with precision and rhythm.
TRAINING ODYSSEY: FROM HYDERABAD TO MUMBAI VIA BHUBANESWAR
After two formative years at SAI in Hyderabad, Jyothi moved through different high-performance setups. But her biggest professional breakthrough came in 2021, when she joined the Reliance Foundation High Performance Centre in Bhubaneswar. Under the guidance of British coach James Hillier, she received world-class training — physical, technical, and psychological — that refined her raw talent into elite performance.
Her first taste of competitive success came quickly: in 2017, she won her first gold medal in the youth national event in Kerala. From then on, Jyothi’s career shot upwards.
BREAKING RECORDS & SETTING STANDARDS
Jyothi’s rise was steep and steadfast. In 2019, she won her first gold at the Inter-State Senior National Championships — a clear signal that she was no longer just a promising young athlete, but one of India’s finest hurdlers.
She went on to shatter expectations — and records. In 2022, she became the first Indian woman hurdler to clock below 13 seconds in the 100 m hurdles, setting a national record of 12.99 seconds, and later lowering it to 12.78s — the fastest ever by an Indian woman in the event. Then came one of her most celebrated achievements: at the World University Games (WUG) in Chengdu, she won bronze and again smashed her own national record, marking India’s first ever 100m hurdles medal at the competition.
CONQUERING ASIA
At the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou, Jyothi battled fierce competition and controversy in the women’s 100m hurdles final. After an initially chaotic start and a disputed false-start decision, she emerged with the silver medal — a historic achievement for India in hurdles on the continental stage. She didn’t stop there. In 2025, she defended her title at the Asian Athletics Championships, claiming the gold medal once again and reinforcing her dominance in the event.
OLYMPIC FIRST
In 2024, Jyothi became the first Indian woman ever to compete in the 100m hurdles at the Olympic Games — a milestone that marked a new chapter in Indian track and field history. Representing the nation on the world’s biggest stage was a dream realised, and though she narrowly missed advancing to the semifinals, her Olympic journey left an indelible mark.
INDOORS & BEYOND
In early 2025, she also broke her own national record in the 60m indoor hurdles, capturing gold at the Meeting de Nantes Métropole in France with a timing of 8.04 seconds — an achievement that underlined her versatility and global competitiveness.
THE INJURY SETBACK
The 26-year-old had been out of action since July 2025, when she suffered a freak knee injury during a routine training session. As a result, this disrupted her season and also forced her to miss the World Athletics Championship, thus ending what was a strong and competitive year for the champion hurdler. Before her injury, she enjoyed a successful run on the domestic and continental circuit. In February 2025, she won gold medals in both the 100m hurdles and the 200m race at the Uttarakhand National Games. She followed that up by securing the top position in the 100m hurdles at the Federation Cup, before going on to defend her title at the Asian Championships.
EYES ON COMMONWEALTH & ASIAN GAMES
Today, she continues her preparation in Mumbai with the Reliance Foundation, training relentlessly for top global events including the Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, and future World Championships. Her typical day is a testament to discipline. “The training session for each athlete is designed as per his or her body requirements. I have my practice sessions divided in three segments with the morning session from 7:30 am to 11:30 am, followed by the afternoon session around 3.30pm and the evening session from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm,” she explained. Every hurdle she clears in training is a step towards her next big goal — and she approaches each session with the same hunger that drove her to ask for shoes all those years ago. “There is no alternative to hard work. And, it is very important for the athletes to practice and follow the routine. It helps in boosting the performance and prepares the body against injuries,” she added.
MINDSET OF A CHAMPION
Jyothi wants to be more than a name in record books — she wants to be an inspiration. She speaks openly about the pride and responsibility of representing India internationally. She dreams not just of medals, but of setting an example for future generations of athletes who come from small towns, modest families, and challenging circumstances.
She draws motivation from fellow Indian athletes like Neeraj Chopra and international stars such as Calvin Quek Jun Jie, admiring their achievements and using their journeys to fuel her own ambition.
LEGACY & VISION
What makes Jyothi Yarraji’s story compelling isn’t just her medals, her records, or her historic firsts — it’s the trajectory of her rise. From asking for basic gear and nourishment, from a school without abundant facilities, from a family without financial means — she has sprinted past barriers of every kind.
She said that athletics in her hometown lacked infrastructure, yet she sees that gap as potential, not limitation. She believes there are many more talented young athletes waiting to be discovered in places like Vizag — and she wants to be the proof that they can rise, too. “I want to do something for the budding athletes at the grassroots so that they get better training facilities,” she said.
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