Jyothi Yarraji withdraws from Asian Games 2026 100m hurdles after warm-up injury, posts Instagram message
Jyothi Yarraji, 27, posted an Instagram Story a day after she was withdrawn from the women’s 100m hurdles at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, saying she had suffered an injury and thanking the Athletics Federation of India for its support.
Yarraji had been due to contest the opening-round heats at the Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium on Saturday but did not start, listed as DNS (Did Not Start), after feeling pain during her warm-up. An Athletics Federation of India official told PTI the pain emerged after she had fully warmed up and she then decided not to race; early reports referred to a minor knee strain. She had joined the 75-member Indian athletics squad only after receiving last-minute fitness clearance.
The AFI issued a statement saying: “Jyothi was fit and trained fully throughout the preparatory camp. During her warm-up for the women’s 100m hurdles today, she felt discomfort, and the coaching team decided to withdraw her from the race as a precaution. Her long-term fitness comes first.”
The withdrawal ends Yarraji’s chance to defend the silver medal she won at the 2022 Hangzhou Games and follows a period of rehabilitation after a serious knee injury. She tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her right knee in July 2025 and underwent surgery before returning to competition in June 2026 at the Indian Championships in Bhubaneswar, where she ran the hurdles and the 200m.
In the fourth week of August she finished third in the 100m hurdles at the World Athletics Continental Tour Silver meeting in Bhubaneswar; she did not finish the 100m final at the same event and subsequently missed the Indian Athletics Final Series in New Delhi.
Yarraji addressed the setback in her Instagram Story, writing: “So much hard work, so many sacrifices, and one dream: to win an Asian Games gold medal. I prepared for this moment with everything I had, but unfortunately, got hamstring injured,” she wrote. She added: “Walking away from something I dreamed about is never easy. My team and I did everything we could, but sometimes sport teaches you that not everything is in your hands.” She also wrote: “2025 and 2026 haven’t gone the way I wanted, but I refuse to let these moments define me. I still believe in myself, my ability, and the journey ahead.” She closed with: “Thank you to the Athletics Federation of India for standing by me and providing such strong support and training facilities. I’m truly grateful, from the bottom of my heart.”
The exit from the event means Yarraji cannot defend the silver she won in Hangzhou in 2022; she still holds the Indian national record in the women’s 100m hurdles with a personal best of 12.78 seconds.