Overcoming hurdles: In life, on track
Jyothi Yarraji is not new to expectations, disappointments, and glory — the constant circle of an athlete’s life.
Born on August 28, 1999, in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, to parents with very limited means — father a security guard and mother a domestic help — she was never short on determination. Taking care of her family “on her own” was the biggest motivation.
She had to deal with injuries and frustrations too, quite early in her career. She was denied 100m hurdles national record on two occasions.
In January 2020, she had clocked 13.03 seconds, but the timing could not be logged. A couple of years later, it was wind that played the culprit. The wind speed during her race was +2.1m/s. The acceptable limit is +2m/s for a national record. She had broken down in tears then, but got back to work again quickly. That still works for her.
“There have been several moments of disappointments,” she says. “Whenever I have hit some hurdles (in the metaphorical sense), broken records that were not considered, I would cry but then just tell myself to still remain focused — you are human, things happen.”
That saw her through the tough times of injuries too. The recent one – a hip flexor injury while competing in Finland in May this year, might have left her scared but couldn’t scar the will. For, the time was crucial. So, if there was pain in flexor muscle, she would focus on other parts of the body. And, meditation, breathing, and concentration exercises were her modes of keeping herself mentally strong in the time of
