Hillier: Jyothi Yarraji long way from returning to the track

Jyothi Yarraji’s exploits in recent years have brought attention to sprint hurdles in recent years.

Jyothi became the first-ever Indian woman to compete in 100m hurdles at the Olympics in Paris last year. The 25-year-old athlete from Andhra Pradesh, who clinched a silver medal at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, began her 2025 season with the aim of qualifying for World Championships.

After her second straight gold medal at the Asian Athletics Championships in May, she looked in a good position to secure a spot for next month’s showpiece event in Tokyo through the World Rankings route. The automatic qualification mark of 12.73s wasn’t completely impossible for her either as her National Record stands at 12.78s.

However, after sustaining an injury on her right knee during training and undergoing surgery for an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) tear, her dreams of competing at consecutive World Championships were crushed.

James Hillier, Jyothi’s coach, revealed that while she is recovering well, there is still a fair bit of time before she can resume proper training. “She’s been fantastic, showing the traits of a world-class athlete the way she’s confronted the injury, the operation and now, this exhausting rehab process. She’s in good spirits and determined to come back even stronger than she went into this injury. We’re still a long way away from her even stepping onto the track,” said Hillier on the sidelines of the 64th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in Chennai.

When asked if they have set a timeline for her return to the track, Hillier said, “We’re not trying to think of it in that way. We’re just taking it day by day, keeping the workload high and her mind fresh at the same time. We’ve got a very good team of people around her. If you look too much into the future, it can get a little bit depressing.”

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While Jyothi can’t make it to Tokyo, Hillier is hopeful that Tejas Shirse can somehow find his way into one of the 40 slots available for men’s 110m hurdles.

Tejas, who holds the National Record at 13.41s, needed a big performance to improve his chances but a delayed race and slippery conditions after a heavy downpour at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Friday meant he could only clock 13.60s.

“He’s not necessarily missed out on the Worlds. If a couple of people pull out, then he’ll be in,” said Hillier.

Earlier this year, Tejas had failed to book his spot for the Asian Championships as his timing of 13.65s at the Federation Cup was 0.09s slower than the qualifying mark decided by the Athletics Federation of India. He also had a stress reaction on his left foot which sidelined him for two months before his return to the track this month.

“It’s been a difficult season for him. He’s had some injury-related concerns but he’s an incredibly resilient young man and even being here is actually an incredible achievement for him, mentally and physically,” said Hillier.

Both Hillier and Tejas feel that the level of competition at home is not enough for him to improve further and he needs to compete more in big meets abroad.

Moumita – a revelation in 2025

On the same day when Shirse’s Worlds hopes took a hit, Moumita Mondal, another student of Hillier, recorded a new personal best of 13.22s in women’s 100m hurdles, just six months after clocking 13.36s at the National Games. She is now the fourth-fastest Indian woman ever.

Moumita, 23, also competes frequently in long jump and heptathlon. In fact, she also clinched a gold medal in the former on Saturday.

Her performances have led Hillier to believe that she is at the level where some changes can bring a sub-13 seconds timing in hurdles.

“She’s been a revelation this year, running a number of personal bests. The old Moumita would get a good start and then get caught. That heptathlon training has helped her get a bit stronger,” he said.

“There are a few big technical things that I will be working on with her next year. If we get that right, we could be looking at sub-13 seconds timing for her.”

Published on Aug 24, 2025