Jyoti Yaraji of India secured a bronze medal in the women's 100-meter hurdles competition at the 2023 Asian Games, despite finishing in third place on Sunday. How did this happen? During the competition, a controversy arose that required the intervention of officials, declaring some athlete’s ineligible and later determining the final standings took nearly half an hour after the race.
India's Jyoti and China's favourite Yanni Wu were both standing in fourth and fifth positions, deeply engaged in the final preparations. Just before the gun went off, Wu stepped out of her blocks, indicating a false start, and the officials confirmed this after an official review. After watching the replay several times, it became evident that Wu had made a false start, and Jyoti reacted accordingly. The match officials showed the red card to the home superstar, signifying her disqualification from the race.
In a short span of time, officials also showed the red card to the Indian athlete, with Jyoti immediately protesting that Wu had left her blocks before firing the gun. Jyoti questioned the officials about the reasons behind penalizing her. Officials were in a dilemma over this issue, and they reviewed the replay again, with both athletes still present on the track. After the drama, both were reinstated into the race, which began once again under the cloud of uncertainty.
Jyoti clocked a time of 12.91 seconds and secured the third position behind China's Yawei Lin and Wu. Wu, who initially finished second, was declared ineligible, as Jyoti claimed an improved silver medal in the women's 100-meter hurdles, her first medal at the Asian Games. She said, What happened in the race affected me 100 percent mentally. It was mentally disturbing because I didn't perform well in the heat.
Yaraji later admitted that she was "completely blank" during the race. This victory propelled India's athletics team in Hangzhou, as along with them, several other athletes from different disciplines won medals, including two golds – in men’s 3000 mtr steeplechase Avinash Sable and in men’s shot put Tajinder Pal Singh Toor.