Olympics 2024: Jyothi Yarraji becomes 1st Indian to compete in 100m hurdle

When Jyothi Yarraji leaps past each hurdle in her bid to reach the finish line, it feels like she is trying to put behind all the struggles that her mother Kumari underwent while working in double shifts as a domestic help and a cleaner at a local hospital in Visakhapatnam.

It is her gutsy mother's positive mindset while struggling for sustenance that Yarraji would like to carry when she gets on the starting blocks of her 100m hurdles heats during the Paris Olympics.

Yarraji will become the first Indian to compete in the Olympics 100m hurdle as she made it to the Paris Games through the world ranking quota.

"In the past, I did too much thinking, too much worried because of my family, my personal life and my background but I learnt a lot," Yarraji said in a virtual media interaction facilitated by Reliance Foundation.

"My situation is really bad sometimes. My mom always told me to just keep going forward because we can't stop the present, past and the future.

"She told me 'You work