Jyothi Yarraji, women’s relay team and Avinash Sable show great heart in gold rush

It was gold rush for India with 100m hurdles specialist Jyothi Yarraji and the women’s 4x400m relay quartet of Jisna Mathew, Rupal Chaudhary, Rajitha Kunja and Subha Venkatesan showing great heart to climb the top of the podium after men’s 3000m Steeplechaser Avinash Sable earned his maiden Asian Athletics Championships crown in Gumi, South Korea, on Thursday.

India ended a rain-hit third day with 14 medals, including five gold and with the belief that Nandini Agasara can build on her opening day lead to win the Heptathlon title on Friday. China’s dominance was reflected in the medal table that saw it secure 12 gold and six silver in a total of 21 medals so far.

In the 1600m relay, Subha Venkatesan and Vietnam anchor Hoang Thi Minh Hanh were surprised by Sri Lanka’s Nishendra Harshani Fernando on the back straight, but they powered into the lead on the final bend. Subha Venkatesan gave the Vietnamese no chance of catching up on the home straight and India won gold with a season’s best time of 3:34.18.

Jyothi Yarraji found a smooth and consistent rhythm over the hurdles to overcome a poor start which left her in fifth place at the first hurdle. She powered on, unmindful of the positions that Japan’s  Yumi Tanaka and China’s Yanni Wu held ahead of her in other lanes. And as she cleared the final hurdle, she had gained a decisive edge to finish with a championship record. 

Both Yumi Tanaka and Yanni Wu had produced faster times than Jyothi Yarraji earlier this year but the Indian delivered a sub-13-second time in the most significant race of the season so far. That helped her retain the crown she won in the 2023 Asian Championships. Though her time of 12.96 seconds is not among her top 10 times, she would be delighted with a repeat gold.

Sable earned his first Asian Championships gold in 8:20.92, his best time in three starts this year. He had won silver in Doha in 2019, but he left none in doubt that the gold would be his. He set the early pace, then settled in Yutaro Niinae’s slipsteram before confidently striding away on the final lap to win by a handsome margin.

Japan’s Ryiuji Miura and Ryoma Aoki who own the best times by Asian Steeplechasers this year, were conspicuous by their absence but their compatriot Yutaro Niinae was no pushover. Sable controlled the race pace well, revealing tactical acumen that has not exactly been his strength, and relied on his ability to produce a kick to keep his trust with the continental gold.

The men’s 4x400m squad finished a creditable second behind Qatar, with Vishal TK running his heart out on the anchor leg and edging ahead of China’s Fu Haoran on the final few strides. India, with Jay Kumar running the lead leg, Dharamveer Chaudhary, Manu TS  and Vishal TK, clocked a season’s best time of 3:03.67.

Ancy Sojan and Shaili Singh flanked Iran’s Reihaneh Mobini Arani on the women’s Long Jump Podium. The Iranian won with 6.40m while Ancy Sojan’s 6.33 on the third try saw her go past Shaili Singh’s 6.30m in the opening round. Silver medalist last time who went in as the author of the longest leap this season by an Asian woman, Shaili Singh’s fans will be left a bit disappointed.

Discus thrower Seema was displaced from her third place at the halfway stage with a best effort of 56.15m when Japan’s Nanaka Kori threw 33cm further on her fourth try. Sarvesh Anil Kushare finished fifth in the men’s High Jump, finding the bar at 2.23m a bit too high on Thursday evening while Samardeep Singh Gill took sixth place in men’s Shot Put with 19.25m.