Authors
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
Claim: Jyoti Yarraji from Andhra Pradesh won the Gold for 100mts hurdles at the Asian Games
Fact: Jyothi Yarraji made history at the Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok, Thailand, by becoming the first Indian woman to ever win gold in the 100-meter hurdles competition, which was held in July 2023.
The 19th Asian Games that began on September 23, is underway in Hangzhou, China, and will continue until October 8. In this context, many users are sharing a video on social media congratulating Indian athlete Jyoti Yarraji for winning a gold medal in the women’s 100m hurdles at the competition. However, Newschecker found this information to be false.
Many verified social media users, including prominent singer Asha Bhosle, shared the claim. The post has 107K Views and over 1500 re-posts in just 2 hours of sharing (till writing this report), and can be seen here. | Archive Link
Other users have also shared posts congratulating Jyoti Yarraji with the same claim. Those can be viewed by clicking here, here, here and here.
Fact Check/Verification
Newschecker first examined the 2.20-minute viral video. At 1.22 minutes of the video, it is clearly visible that the background of the sprinters reads Asian Athletics Championship 2023. The logo seen here also bears a resemblance to the one on the official championship website.
On further searching Google with keywords “Jyoti Yarraji” and “Asian Athletics Championship 2023”, we found many reports of Jyoti Yarraji winning a gold medal in the Asian Athletics Championship. ABP News published this report on 14 July 2023 which read “Jyothi Yarraji has achieved a significant milestone by winning a gold medal in the 100m hurdle race at the Asian Athletics Championships. She narrowly beat her Japanese competitors in a close race, making her the first Indian woman ever to complete this event in under 13 seconds. This is a historic achievement for her and Indian athletics.”
The viral video was also posted on the social media page of Sport Authority of India and by the Union Minister for I&B and Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India Anurag Thakur on July 13, 2023.
We also saw this video two months ago on the YouTube channel Athletes Life –
We then checked if Jyothi Yarraji has been selected to compete in the women’s 100m hurdles race at the Asian Games in China, and found that she has indeed been selected.
According to the schedule uploaded on the website of the Asian Games, her race is scheduled for October 1st at 9:15 PM Indian time.
James Hillier, who is Jyothi Yarraji’s coach and Athletic Director at Reliance Foundation, posted a message on Instagram wishing her the best for her performance in the 2023 Asian Games.
Conclusion
The viral claim that Jyothi Yarraji from Andhra Pradesh won a gold medal in the women’s 100m hurdles at the Asian Games is false. The video is from the 2023 Asian Athletics Championship. Jyothi is set to compete in the Asian Games on October 1, 2023, and her race hasn’t taken place yet.
Result – False
Our Sources:
1. Report by ABP News, dated 14 July 2023.
2. Report by Olympics.com, dated 13 July 2023.
3. X post by Asha Bhosle, dated 26 September, 2023
4. Report by The Hindu, dated 20 September, 2023
5. Instagram post by Coach James Hillier, dated 26 September, 2023
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Authors
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
