Jyothi Yarraji aims for another sub-13 run at National Inter-State Championship

Heat and humidity here have been a cause of concern for many but national record holder 100m hurdler Jyothi Yarraji is confident that she can run yet another sub-13 second race in the National Inter-State Athletics Championship.

The 23-year-old Yarraji was in Europe from May 27 to June 7 where she ran seven races out of which she ran sub-13 second thrice with a season's best of 12.84 in Germany.

Before that, she ran 12.89 seconds to win gold in the Federation Cup in Ranchi on May 17.

"Yes, I can do better here. The competition will be tough, hoping to have neck-to-neck runners. I am running in my country and I aim to run sub-13 consistently wherever," Yarraji told PTI when asked if she can do better in the ongoing National Inter-State Championship than in Europe.

"I have improved on my starts and I am confident and have no doubts in me about that. So, I am looking for yet another sub-13-second run." She won two finals in Europe while finishing second and fourth once each.

In one event in Poland, she ran along with Tokyo Olympics champion Jasmine Camacho of Puerto Rico who was joint winner with Alaysha Johnson of the USA, clocking 12.42 seconds.

Yarraji was fourth with a time of 13.03 seconds. With a national record of 12.82 seconds and season's best of 12.84 -- which made her the season leader among Asians, Yarraji is a strong contender for a medal in the upcoming Asian Games, but she will have to fight it out against Japanese hurdlers like Mako Fukube who has directly qualified for the World Championships in August with a time of 12.73 clocked in September last.

"I am not going to prove something by beating someone. I want to perform for myself and improve my timing. I want to focus on myself and if I keep on bettering myself, the medals should come," said the athlete from Andhra Pradesh.

Yarraji is yet to directly qualify for the World Championships by breaching 12.78 seconds but she still has a chance to cut the showpiece as she is at the 31st spot in the Road to Budapest chart out of the 40 to compete.

"My coach will plan more competitions after this one (so that she collects more ranking points). The European stint was about running with consistent time and rubbing shoulders with the top global athletes. I learned a lot from the European stint which is giving me more confidence," she concluded.