Both Jyothi Yarraji and Wu raced in the final, with a decision on their standings to be made after crossing the finish line.
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During the Asian Games 2022 in Hangzhou, the world witnessed a controversial turn of events in the women’s 100m hurdles race. Chinese athlete Yanni Wu was initially disqualified for a premature start. However, in a shocking twist, India’s Jyothi Yarraji also faced the same accusation.
This unexpected twist began when the Chinese track officials, after spotting Yanni Wu’s early dash from lane 5, suddenly signaled a fault against Yarraji in lane 4. Jyothi Yarraji immediately disputed this and firmly stated she hadn’t done anything wrong. The video evidence also supported her stance.
After a tense standoff lasting nearly five minutes, the race resumed. Both Jyothi Yarraji and Wu raced in the final, with a decision on their standings to be made after crossing the finish line. As events progressed, another athlete Lin Yuwei from China emerged as the winner, registering a time of 12.74 seconds. Trailing close behind, Yanni Wu clinched silver with a time of 12.77 seconds. Meanwhile, Jyothi Yarraji secured the third spot as she clocked 12.91 seconds.
It’s a shame that such injustice is being doing to an indian athlete at an international event like the Asian games 2023! The Shameless Chinese home favouriteism clearly showcased.
— Alisha abdullah (@alishaabdullah) October 1, 2023
What a mental trauma & distractio it would have caused Jyothi yarraji.. #AsianGames… pic.twitter.com/BPgr2hY7dv
This will be one of the biggest robberies in world athletics if Jyothi Yarraji is disqualified today.
— Shyam Vasudevan (@JesuisShyam) October 1, 2023
No frikkin’ chance she gets DQd for no fault of hers. Absolutely ridiculous officiating, to say the least.#HangzhouAsianGames | #IndiaAtAG22 | #IndianAthletics pic.twitter.com/ADHFfpxAeg
Feel for #JyothiYarraji it was clear cheating from Jury. That wrong false start card clearly hurt her rhythm. As per rules only Chinese deserved False start card but Jury for sake of keeping China alive broke Jyothi rhythm. #AsianGames2022 #AsianGames2023 #IndiaAtAsianGames pic.twitter.com/j8duc9qL8Z
— Ganesh (@me_ganesh14) October 1, 2023
JYOTHI YARRAJI Remember the name💪She was robbed.. Kudos to @JyothiYarraji for the tremendous run after unnecessary trauma created by cheating Chinese officials. Poor game spirit of cheating chinese athlete Wu🤦Really proud of her for the fight 👏👏 #IndiaAtAsianGames #AsianGames pic.twitter.com/EkeNtG9h7y
— gokul b (@gokul_ragul) October 1, 2023
Chinese are such cheaters man. Jyothi Yarraji is clearly not at fault. They are making a mockery of these games.#AsianGames2023 #100mhurdles #JyothiYarraji
— That's A Jaffa! (@ThatsAJaffa) October 1, 2023
Wowwwww!! Chinese are upto their antics again. Can't belive they tried to eject Jyothi Yarraji after it's clear that Wu is the one who had a false start and Jyothi had no move until Wu's move. And now they found a way to let WU in after a clear false start. This is hilarious
— Sayan (@Tweets_by_Sayan) October 1, 2023
The drama persisted post-race. Initially awarded bronze, Yarraji’s medal later was upgraded to silver. This change was set in motion by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) swiftly raising an official objection to the dubious false start tagged to Jyothi Yarraji.
The famed Indian long-jumper and AFI’s Vice-President, Anju Bobby George, expressed her disapproval and said, “Officials wanted to make sure that Wu is running. They disturbed Jyothi, that was our concern, otherwise she could have run much better.”
Anju elaborated, “The rule says who is leaving the ground first will be disqualified and Jyothi was still on the ground, so they cannot say Jyothi leaves the ground. The other girl was almost one and half step ahead of her and they came to Jyothi suddenly, it’s all drama they did.” Further expressing her frustration, Anju remarked, “It was very unusual, all the athletes and coaches were making sound, wrong decision, what are you doing.”
Jyothi Yarraji is the Indian national record holder in the women’s 100m hurdles, owing to her performance at the 2021 Chengdu World University Games held this year of 12.78 seconds. This surpassed her own previous national record of 12.82 seconds established in October 2022. Her achievement marked India’s inaugural 100m hurdles medal at the World University Games, where she clinched a bronze.
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