Why Jyothi Yarraji’s bronze medal was reclassified as silver after controversial Asian Games:-
Indian hurdler Jyothi Yarraji won the silver medal at the Asian Games after the false start controversy. False start, risk of disqualification and deserved medal upgrade; The medal won by Jyothi Yarraji in the recently concluded women’s 100m hurdles at the Hangzhou Asian Games sparked a huge debate in the athletics world on Sunday.
On the day athletes kicked off India’s athletics campaign at the Asian Games with a rich haul of medals, Yarraji participated in the 100m hurdles event that caused huge controversy at the 19th Asiad. China’s Yuwei Lin and India’s Jyothi Yarraji compete in the women’s 100m hurdles final (Reuters) China’s Yuwei Lin and India’s Jyothi Yarraji compete in the women’s 100m hurdles final (Reuters) The women’s 100m hurdles witnessed drama as China’s Wu Yanni started the event early.
India’s Yarraji appeared to have been inspired by Yanni’s false start and the two sprinters were questioned by Asian Games officials in Hangzhou. Jyothi started running from lane 5 while Wu was in lane 4. Wu was already out of the compound before the gunfire rang out. The race was therefore stopped by officials. Launching a protest, Jyothi said that it was Wu who made the wrong start. Several replays on trackside monitors confirmed that Wu had started early and Jyothi was only reacting to his movements. Jyothi Yarraji won the silver medal after a false start controversy After a lengthy discussion, Yarraji and Wu were allowed to compete in the women’s 100m hurdles after a false start.
Behind his Chinese opponent, Yarraji took third place in the 100m hurdles to win the bronze medal. Meanwhile, the Indian Athletics Federation filed a protest against Wu’s disqualification. Later, a late ruling upgraded Yarraji’s bronze medal to silver and Wu was disqualified from the race. What is a false start? Yarraji’s bronze was reclassified as silver after Yanni was disqualified under technical rule 16.8.
According to technical rule 16.8, any athlete committing a starting foul will be disqualified from the competition by the starter. “The regulations clearly state that whoever leaves the field first in case of a false start will be disqualified. Jyothi’s hands remained on the ground while the Chinese athlete was one and a half steps ahead of her. We filed a protest before the race resumed, paid the $100 fee required to file a protest, and won. Jyothi’s medal has been upgraded to silver,” said legendary long jumper Anju Bobby George. Jyothi clocked 12.91 seconds to finish second in the race. China’s Yuwei Lin won the gold with the time 12.74 while Yumi Tanaka won the bronze medal for Japan in the women’s 100m hurdles at the Asian Games.