Jyothi Yarraji wins India's first medal at Asian Indoor Athletics Championships

Reliance Foundation athlete Jyothi Yarraji won India's first medal at the ongoing Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Tehran (Iran), winning Gold in the 60m Hurdles event with a new national record timing of 8.12s.

Hurdler Jyothi Yarraji and ace shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor crushed their national records, while long-distance sensation Harmilan Bains sizzled on the track, as India won three gold medals on the first day of the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships on Saturday.

She prepared for the competition by training at the Kalinga Indoor Athletics Stadium. She also took part in the first Indoor Athletics Test Meet held at the High Performance Centre.

Jyothi qualified for the final after winning heat 1 with a time of 8.22 seconds.

Toor, a two-time Asian Games gold medalist, hurled the shot put 19.72 metres on his second attempt to set a new national indoor record. Kazakhstan's Ivanov Ivan (19.08m) and Iran's Mehdi Saberi (18.74m) won silver and bronze medals respectively.

Earlier, Jyothi Yarraji marginally bettered her own national record by clocking 8.12s in the women’s 60m hurdles to win the gold.

The 2022 Asian Games silver medallist in the 100m hurdles had the previous best timing of 8:13s at the same event last year which had earned her a runner-up finish.

The 24-year-old athlete topped her heat with a timing of 8:22s and in the final she did better to finish ahead of Japan’s Asuka Tereda (8.21s).

Lui Lai Yiu of Hong Kong (8:26s) took the third place on the podium.

Jyothi is the reigning Asian Outdoor champion in the 100m hurdles, having won the title in Bangkok last year.

She had returned with a silver in the 100m hurdles from Hangzhou Asian Games after initially being disqualified.

Asian Games silver medallist Harmilan Bains blazed the track with a timing of 4:29.55 seconds to bag India’s first gold of the day in the women’s 1500m.

Harmilan exhibited sheer dominance, finishing over five seconds ahead of her nearest competitor, Kyrgyzstan’s Kalil Kyzy Ainuska, who clinched the silver medal with a time of 4:35.29.

The third position was claimed by Kazakhstan’s Bolatbekkyzy Aiana, crossing the finish line in 4:37.20.

She finished more than five seconds ahead of Kyrgyzstan’s Kalil Kyzy Ainuska who bagged the silver with a timing of 4:35.29. Kazakhstan’s Bolatbekkyzy Aiana came third clocking 4:37.20.

Shaili Singh and Nayana James also competed in the women’s long jump final in the morning session but failed to get podium positions, registering distances of 6.27m and 6.23m for fifth and sixth place finishes respectively.

Shiqi Xiong (6.55m) and Tan Mengyi (6.50m) of China had the gold-silver, while Hong Kong’s Yue Nga Yan (6.35m) bagged the bronze.

Toor was the only Indian competitor to finish on the podium at last year's Astana competition, where the country earned eight medals, including six silvers and one bronze.

(Disclaimer: Moneycontrol is a part of the Network18 group. Network18 is controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary.)

(With PTI inputs)