Injury blow for Jyothi Yarraji: Asian Champion’s World Championships hopes in jeopardy

Asian champion Jyothi Yarraji has suffered a knee injury during training, jeopardising her preparations for the World Championships later this year in Tokyo, the 100m hurdler confirmed on Wednesday.

“Due to an unfortunate injury to my knee during training a few days ago, I’ve had to pause my season,” said Yarraji, who holds the national record of 12.78 seconds, in a post on her social media handle.

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“I’m working with my medical team to assess my options and decide on the way forward,” added the 25-year-old.

Yarraji, who clinched gold at the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea, in May with a new national record time of 12.96 seconds, is yet to meet the automatic qualification mark of 12.73 seconds for the World Championships in September.

While she remained in contention for a spot via world rankings, the injury has disrupted her progress. Currently ranked 12th among athletes eligible through the ranking quota, Jyothi needed to participate in additional events before the August 24 deadline to secure her position.

“Injuries are part of an athlete’s journey, and I’m viewing this as just another hurdle that I’m going to overcome soon with all your support and blessings. I’ll be back stronger,” she said.

This marks the second injury setback for the star hurdler this year. In April, just weeks before the Federation Cup in Kochi, Yarraji suffered a hamstring injury that forced her to miss crucial training sessions. Despite the setback, she managed to clock 13.23 seconds to win the women’s 100m hurdles in Kochi.

She began the 2025 athletics season on a high note, breaking the 60m indoor hurdles record at the Meeting de Nantes Métropole in France, eclipsing her own mark by just under a tenth of a second. She also won gold medals in the hurdles and the women’s 200m events at the 2025 National Games in Uttarakhand.