Unless the HOC Stadium in Hangzhou was suddenly the setting for smoke, mirrors and optical illusions of the David Copperfield variety, what happened at the start of the women’s 100m hurdles was really beyond dispute. Before the race, the attention was squarely on the middle lanes, with China’s Yanni Wu in lane 4 and Yuwei Lin in lane 6 sandwiching India’s Jyothi Yarraji in lane 5.
The trio were expected to share the medals, though no one knew in what order they would finish. With Wu and Jyothi having season’s bests within 0.02s of each other, there really was nothing between them. And that made the start especially important.
What then took place has been viewed by millions – in real time, slow motion and ultra-slow motion. There was no ambiguity in the pictures. While the other seven athletes were still in the blocks, Wu took off. Japan’s Masumi Aoki, in lane 3, and Jyothi reacted next. But as you saw the imagess, it was obvious that they were only responding to the movement next to them.
Whichever angle you viewed it from, there wasn’t so much as a twitch from Jyothi before her Chinese opponent raised herself and pushed off. And there is no confusion in the rules either. World Athletics’ Technical Rules 16.8 says this: Except in Combined Events, any athlete responsible for a false start shall be disqualified by the Starter.
It goes on to add this: Note: In practice, when one or more athletes make a false start, others are inclined to follow and, strictly speaking, any athlete who does so has also made a false start. The Starter should warn or disqualify only such athlete or athletes who, in their opinion, were responsible for the false start. This may result in more than one athlete being warned or disqualified. If the false start is not due to any athlete, no warnings shall be given and a green card shall be shown to all the athletes.
Breaking🚨
Jyothi Yarraji won Silver after AFI protested against the Chinese Athlete.
Well Done @Adille1 & @anjubobbygeorg1.#AsianGames2022 #JyothiYarraji pic.twitter.com/CTNmOM9Ags
— RevSportz (@RevSportz) October 1, 2023
In this case, no other athlete was responsible for the false start, only Wu. So, for the officials present to attempt to drag Jyothi into the fray was little short of scandalous. If we’re being especially cynical, we could say it was cheating, plain and simple. There was no replay, from any angle, that remotely suggested that Jyothi had triggered the false start. The onus was on Wu, and Wu alone. For her and the officials to even suggest otherwise was preposterous.
Jyothi’s cause was helped because of two strong characters in her corner. Adille Sumariwalla, who represented India at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, is currently vice-president of World Athletics, and both he and Anju Bobby George, vice-president of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI), were quick to initiate a protest against the initial result, which had the Chinese first and second. Had the AFI not filed their appeal within half an hour, the medal she deserved may not have come Jyothi’s way, at least not tonight.
That justice was done in the end, and Wu denied the silver, is neither here nor there. When the race finally got underway after an interminable delay, only Lin, the eventual gold medallist, and Nithya Ramraj, Jyothi’s teammate, were slower off the blocks than she was. Her reaction time of 0.153 seconds was sluggish in the extreme, and left her playing catch-up right from the first hurdle.
BREAKING & EXCLUSIVE🚨
“This was nonsense. I will take this up at the highest level. Action will be taken against the Chinese officials. They tried to disqualify Jyothi which was outright wrong” Adille Sumariwalla, Vice President of @WorldAthletics.@Adille1 @BoriaMajumdar… pic.twitter.com/9LGdUFbv0I
— RevSportz (@RevSportz) October 1, 2023
Should we have expected anything more? Having been hounded for minutes for no fault of her own, her mental state was such that a safe and conservative start was almost the only option left to her. When you lose faith in the starters and their ability to perform their job fairly and competently, such things happen. While sports lovers at large may celebrate a silver in an event where India have seldom even been a factor, the reality is that the unnecessary controversy deprived Jyothi of a real chance of gold.
Note too that Aoki, who also responded to Wu’s false start, wasn’t even spoken to. Only Jyothi, the most realistic threat to a Chinese one-two finish, was singled out for an utterly nonsensical caution. It’s tribute to her mental strength that she was somehow able to put it behind her and run the race she did.
Celebrate her silver, by all means. But don’t stop at that. Keep asking questions, because what happened in the last race of the evening made a mockery of every principle of fair play that governs organised sport. It simply wasn’t done, and every athletics lover – from top official to common fan – should raise their voice until justice is done.
Also Read: Aditi Ashok Laments Final-Round Meltdown after Asian Games Silver