Jyothi Yarraji leads India’s gold rush at Asian Athletics Championships | More sports News – Times of India

BANGKOK: Hurdler Jyothi Yarraji opened India’s gold medal account before Ajay Kumar Saroj (men’s 1500m) and Abdulla Aboobacker (men’s triple jump) made it a triple delight as they halted Japan’s charge, who still added three more gold, on the second day of the Asian Athletics Championships here on Thursday.
While the morning session at the National stadium saw the likes of decathlete Tejaswin Shankar (bronze, 7527 points) battling the stifling heat, showers in the evening made it difficult for the athletes to grip the track. But before it poured, Aishwarya K Mishra won India’s second bronze in women’s 400m.
The stage was set for an exciting battle in the hurdles with Jyothi, Asuka Terada, Masumi Aoki (both Japan) and China’s Wu Yanni, all with sub-13s times this year, lining up for the starter’s gun.

The athletes were off in a flash but were called back as Yanni jumped the gun. The Chinese girl was not ready to leave despite the red card and her protests delayed the start by another 5-10 mins.
With the Chinese out of the race, the battle was now between Jyothi and the two Japanese girls who flanked her. The Indian, who came 0.1 second close to setting a new Asian record in the heats, was off to a slow start but fought her way into the lead.
Despite a few minor mistakes at the last few hurdles, Jyothi pulled away from Asuka and Masumi to win in 13.09 seconds.
Ajay regains Asian title
After surrendering his men’s 1500m title in the 2019 edition, where he settled for the silver, Saroj regained his gold with a blazing run that left his rivals dazed.

The six-time national champion was nowhere in the leading bunch at the bell but sped away in the home stretch to win in 3 minutes, 41.51 seconds.
In men’s triple jump, CWG silver medallist Abdulla Aboobacker again proved that he thrives on the big stage as he overcame a slump in form to find the golden leap.
TheIndian was in danger of missing a top-8 finish after two rounds as he managed a best of only 15.80m after fouling his first jump. But a 16.54m turned out to be the
confidence booster as Indian Air Force JWO found his best of 16.92 on his fourth attempt.
With gold assured, he skipped his last jump.
RESULTS:
MEN
400m: 1. Kentaro Sato (Jpn, 45s), 2. Fuga Sato (Jpn, 45.13), 3. Yousef Ahmed Masrahi (Ksa, 45.19), 4. Muhammed V Ajmal (Ind, 45.36 SB), 6. Rajesh Ramesh (Ind, 45.67 SB)
1500m: 1. Ajay Kumar Saroj (Ind, 3:41.51s), 2. Yusuke Takahashi (Jpn, 3:42.04), 3. Liu Dezhu (Chn, 3:42.30), 11. Jinson Johnson (Ind. 3:46.91)
Hammer throw: 1. Qi Wang (Chn, 72.13m), 2. Sukhrob Khodjaev (Uzb, 71.83), 3. Shota Fukuda (Jpn, 71.80)
Triple jump: 1. Abdulla Aboobacker (Ind, 16.92m SB), 2. Hikaru Ikehata (Jpn, 16.73), 3. Kim Jangwoo (Kor, 16.59)
Decathlon: 1. Yuma Maruyama (Jpn, 7745 points), 2. Suttisak Singkhon (Tha, 7626), 3. Tejaswin Shankar (Ind, 7527)
WOMEN
400m: 1. Ramanayaka Nadeesha (Sri, 52.61s), 2. Farida Solieva (Uzb, 52.95), 3. Aishwarya K Mishra (Ind, 53.07)
10,000m: 1. Haruka Kokai (Jpn, 32:59.36), 2. Momoka Kawaguchi (Jpn, 33:18.72), 3. Bayartsogt Munkhzaya (Mgl, 33:24.79)
100m Hurdles: 1. Jyothi Yarraji (Ind, 13.09s), 2. Asuka Terada (Jpn, 13.13), 3. Masumi Aoki (Jpn, 13.26)
High jump: 1. Ovchinnikova Kristina (Kaz, 1.86m), 2. Matveyeva Yelizaveta (Kaz, 1.86), 3. Svetlana Radzivil (Uzb, 1.83), 7. Pooja (Ind, 1.75) & Rubina Yadav (Ind, 1.75)
Hammer throw: 1. Zhao Jie (Chn, 69.39m), 2. Joy McArthur (Jpn, 66.56), 3. Raika Murakami (Jpn, 64.17)