Asian Games: Curious case of Jyothi Yarraji winning silver despite finishing third in women's 100m hurdles

India’s Jyothi Yarraji won the silver medal in the Women’s 100m hurdles event on Sunday at the Asian Games 2023 despite finishing third. How did this happen? The controversy that erupted during the event required officials' intervention, players getting disqualified and later reinstated, and decision-makers taking around half an hour following the race to determine the final standings.

What actually happened?

India’s Jyothi and China’s crowd favourite Yanni Wu were standing in the fourth and fifth lane, respectively, gearing up for the final race. Before the gunshot launched, Wu was off the blocks, meaning the false start and the race got stopped immediately. Jyothi protested straightaway, indicating Wu had made a false start, as an official inquiry followed.

Following looking at the replays multiple times, which showed it was Wu who had made a false start and Jyothi followed her reaction, the match officials presented at the race site showed a red card to the home superstar, meaning she would get disqualified and would not participate in the race.

In no time, the officials then showed the red card to the Indian athlete too, to which Jyothi protested immediately, saying it was Wu who left her block before the gunshot launched. Jyothi questioned the officials about the reason behind punishing her.

The officials looked confused over the issue and looked at the replays again, with both runners watching alongside them.

Following the drama, both got reinstated into the race, which got underway again under the cloud of uncertainty.

In the restarted race, Jyothi clocked 12.91 seconds, finishing third behind China’s Yuwei Lin and Wu, respectively. Wu, who stood second, got disqualified, as India’s Jyothi got the upgraded silver medal in the Women’s 100m hurdles, her first at the Asian Games.

“100 per cent I was affected by what happened in the race. It hit me hard mentally because I had not done too well in the heats,” Yarraji said later on before admitting she was “completely blank”.

That win kept India’s athletics contingent chart up and moving in Hangzhou, as alongside her, several other athletes in different disciplines won medals, including two gold – won by Avinash Sable (in the Men’s 3000m Steeplechase) and Tajinder Pal Singh Toor (in the Men’s Shot Put).

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