India's Jyothi Yarraji showed off in style by winning silver in the women’s 100m hurdles event at the Asian Games in Hangzhou on Sunday. Yarraji’s silver is the first ever medal for India in the women’s 100m hurdles event at the competition. Jyothi clocked a stellar time of 12.91s in the final.

“This was my first Asian Games. So I’m feeling very happy to win silver. There was a lot of responsibility on my shoulders. My idols are Neeraj bhaiya (Neeraj Chopra) and my coach James Hillier. He motivated me a lot before the final. Coach explained everything to me and it helped me visualise the final and then execute our plans. I want to thank him for his unconditional support,” Yarraji said.

She has now set her sights on doing even better in the next year. “In the upcoming season, I will look to improve on my timings further. I will work even harder. The start was tough for me because I didn’t do any wrong but I tried to put it aside. It just motivated me to do even better,” Yarraji said when asked about the drama that unfolded at the start of the race that saw the result being reviewed. James Hillier, her coach, lauded Yarraji’s poise and grit in the face of adversity on the big stage.

“It has been a rollercoaster day. We were disappointed when Jyothi didn’t qualify for the 200m final earlier today. She regathered her thoughts extremely well though to set that aside and regain her focus for the hurdles final. Ultimately, there was a lot of drama but she held her nerve and got the job done. Silver medal is a great achievement. It is a testament to the great year she has had."

“It has been a very long year and it’s very hard to prepare for a competition this late in the year. Jyothi has done really well to keep delivering. Winning a medal in the Asian Games is a huge deal for an Indian athlete. It is a very big moment for her and I’m delighted for her,” Hillier said

Defending champion Jinson Johnson also scripted history at the Hangzhou Asian Games as he became the only Indian man to win medal in multiple editions of the Asian Games in the men’s 1500m event. Jinson clocked a time of 3:39.74s in the final to win bronze.