Bengaluru: An event of the magnitude of the Olympics, the biggest sporting spectacle in the world, is bound to give goosebumps to even the best of performers. Jyothi Yarraji, set to compete in her maiden Summer Games, is aware of that.
The 24-year-old 100m hurdler, a silver medallist at the Hangzhou Asian Games and a champion at the Bangkok Asian Championships, is also aware of the expectations following her success at the continental level last year.
Jyothi, one of the talented track athletes to emerge in the country in recent years, is also aware how cut-throat the competition will be at the Olympics. Set to become the first Indian 100m hurdler to be competing in the showpiece event in Paris, the national record holder says she’s trying not to get overawed by the occasion as that will only prove detrimental to her performance.
“I don’t want to stress my body and mind that I’m competing in an event as big as the Olympics. When we think too much then it goes wrong. I want to keep my body and mind the same way, like I do in training or other major competitions,” said Jyothi, who is supported by Reliance Foundation.
“This is Olympics and it’s obvious the level of competition will be the highest. However, my coach (James Hillier) constantly keeps telling me to not get overwhelmed by the occasion and wants me to treat it like any other competition. If I think, ‘oh it’s the Olympics and I need to do something big’, then I could just end up complicating. Whatever I’ve been doing in training and competitions, I just have to replicate it in Paris.”
Jyothi, who has been steadily improving over the years, was hoping to peak at the Paris Olympics but her hopes took a massive hit when she sustained a hip flex injury at Motonet Grand Prix in Lahti, Finland on May 24. Thankfully, the injury wasn’t a massive one but it nevertheless didn’t allow to leap over hurdles, putting a spoke in her final training plans.
With not much time left, especially for the National Inter-State Championships in Panchkula late last month which was the final qualifying event for the Olympics, Jyothi figured instead of sulking, she can use the opportunity to strengthen her upper body and postures. That has now resulted in her becoming fitter, stronger and faster, according to her coach who is also the director of athletics at Reliance.
“She’s trained phenomenally well. She missed a bit of work because of injury, so we don’t have much time to do the stuff we wanted to. It’s not ideal but sometimes it’s good also that we don’t over train. The confidence she has gained from that injury is brilliant. I feel she’s a better athlete now than before the injury,” said Hillier. “The only day she didn’t train was the day after she got injured. After that she was straight in the gym, basically strengthening her upper body. She did a lot of other training as well, like improving her postures. She couldn’t do hurdle training but she saw the injury as an opportunity to train for other things. This injury has been a very positive thing. Her mindset during the injury has been brilliant.”
Hillier now wants his ward to make it all count in Paris. “We can’t control the outcome. Jyothi just needs to control and express herself at the Olympic Games. If she does give her best and that’s good enough to win a medal or make top-10 or top-20, we’ll be delighted with that. You can’t ask more from an athlete when they’ve given it their all.
“As I said she’s a tougher person now, she’s understands the sport better and is a completely different person now. I’ve told her that you’re not running for the country, the family or myself but herself. I don’t want her to get burdened by the weight of expectations.”