"The goal is to finish on the podium at the Commonwealth Games" - 100m hurdles national record holder Jyothi Yarraji outlines her goal for CWG 2022

Sport is a great leveller and India's fastest hurdler, Jyothi Yarraji, believes it to the cue. Over the span of one month, across two fortnights, Jyothi Yarraji saw both the highs and the lows of the sport.

In May 2022, Jyothi broke the national record thrice during a training cum competition exposure trip to Europe. At the Limassol International, she clocked 13.23s, breaking Anuradha Biswal's 20-year-old record of 13.38s.

At the Loughborough International Athletics Meet, Jyothi finished with an impressive 13.11s and, at the Harry Schulting Games in the Netherlands, Jyothi finished the race in 13.04s to cap an impressive European sojourn.

Back home, Jyothi Yarraji's stock rose. She was the talk of the town. As the National Interstate Senior Athletics Championships in Chennai beckoned, she was touted to take home the gold medal with ease.

Read: India at CWG 2022: Full list of Indian athletes who have qualified for Commonwealth Games 2022 (Updated)

However, a blip during the race - she stumbled at the last hurdle and came crashing down - meant Jyothi Yarraji finished a painful last.

Taking inspiration from the record-breaking spree, motivation and learnings from the stumble, Jyothi Yarraji is now gunning for glory at the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Birmingham from July 28.

Speaking to Sportskeeda from her training base, the Reliance Odisha Athletics High-Performance Center in Bhubaneshwar, ahead of her departure to CWG 2022, Jyothi Yarraji explained what the Commonwealth Games mean to her.

"The Commonwealth Games is a big event. It is going to be my first flagship international tournament. I am chuffed to do well. There is no way I can let this opportunity pass and go to waste. I want to prove myself and I know I can do much better than what I am currently performing."

The Andhra Pradesh-based athlete is clear of what she wants to achieve at the prestigious Commonwealth Games.

"I don't believe in setting any targets for myself. The motivation is to constantly better yourself every single day. My coach (James Hillier) has meticulously prepared a schedule for myself which I follow to get better. However, the goal is to finish on the podium at the Commonwealth Games."

Jyothi Yarraji sheds light on training for CWG 2022

The ace Indian athlete was quick to introspect. Not basking in the glory of her record-breaking spree, Jyothi Yarraji made sure to get back to the drawing board quickly to chalk out her rise again.

"I made some simple mistakes during the National Interstate Senior Athletics Championships (in Chennai). I am working on fine-tuning my run."

Elaborating on what went wrong and the course correction, Jyothi threw light and said:

"My trail leg hit the hurdle and I lost my balance and fell down. The issue was that there was no weight at the bottom of the hurdle to keep them in place. So when my trail leg touched them, I had fallen down. It's not just me, we did see a couple of male and female athletes losing balance and falling down."

Jyothi is now focussing on keeping things simple. The nasty fall at the Interstates took a toll on her body too as she suffered a slight hamstring strain. Confirming that the niggle isn't anything to worry about, the hurdler said she is focusing on strengthening and speed development in training.

"I am now focusing on basic training. I went home for a few days after the National Interstate tournament. I am currently nursing a hamstring injury, a minor one, after a fall in Chennai. Currently, my training is more focussed on strengthening and speed development apart from a routine training session."

With the Commonwealth Games barely a month away, Jyothi Yarraji is hoping to leave no stone unturned in her quest to finish on the podium at the Games.