Jyothi Yarraji breaks 100m hurdles national record in Cyprus meet
New Delhi (PTI): A month after her wind-assisted effort was not registered as a national record, hurdler Jyothi Yarraji has finally made the mark her own while winning a 100m event in Cyprus with a timing of 13.23 seconds.
The 22-year-old Andhra athlete on Tuesday won the gold in Cyprus International Meet at Limassol under a head wind speed of 0.1m/s. The old national record of 13.38 seconds was in the name of Anuradha Biswal since 2002.
The Cyprus Meet is a World Athletics Continental Tour Challenger category D event.
Jyothi, who trains under Joseph Hillier at Odisha Athletics High Performance Center in Bhubaneswar, had clocked 13.09 seconds during the Federation Cup in Kozhikode last month but since the wind speed was +2.1 m/s, more than the permissible +2.0 m/s, it was not counted.
In 2020 also, Jyothi had run below Biswal's national record time as she clocked 13.03 seconds at the All India Inter-University Athletics Championships in Moodbidri, Karnataka.
But that was also not counted as NR as National Anti-Doping Agency did not test her at the meet and there was no technical delegate from the Athletics Federation of India present at the meet.
Another Odisha Athletics High Performance Center trainee Amlan Borgohain, who smashed the national record during the Kozhikode Federation Cup, finished third in men's 200m race with a time of 21.32 seconds.
The 24-year-old from Assam had clocked 20.52s in Kozhikode. In other result, Lili Das won the women's 1500m race with a time of 4 minutes 17.79 seconds.
Jyothi comes from a humble background as her father Suryanarayana is working as a private security guard and her mother Kumari is a domestic help.
Her life changed after she got selected for the Sports Authority of India (SAI) hostel at Hakimpet, Telangana after her schooling.
Jyothi soon started showing results with her first national gold medal coming in 100m hurdle at the 32nd National Junior Athletic Championship in Coimbatore in November 2016.
She went on to prove her mettle in the 4x400 metres relay at the UP Athletics Association held in Lucknow in June, before shining at the 29th South Zone Junior Athletics in Kerala in September, 2017.
She also drew attention with her gold winning performance at the 59th National Inter State Senior Athletics Championship in Lucknow in August, 2019.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
UP Cong holds statewide protest seeking probe into FIR against Swami Avimukteshwaranand
Lucknow (PTI): The Uttar Pradesh Congress on Wednesday staged a statewide protest demanding a fair and transparent inquiry into the FIR lodged against Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati and those who filed the complaint against him.
In a statement issued here, the party said memorandums addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi were submitted through district magistrates in all districts of the state.
Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Manish Hindvi told PTI that the memorandums were handed over through the district administration in all 75 districts.
In the memorandum, the party alleged that Saraswati and his disciples were "unnecessarily harassed and humiliated" by police on the occasion of Amavasya and were prevented from taking a ritual bath (at the Magh Mela). It further alleged that some disciples were manhandled and taken to a police station.
The memorandum also claimed that an FIR was later registered against Saraswati, his disciple Swami Mukundanand Brahmachari and several unidentified persons in a sexual harassment case. It termed the case a "conspiracy" aimed at tarnishing the seer's reputation.
Citing Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution, the memorandum stated that these provisions guarantee religious freedom and the right of religious denominations to manage their own affairs.
It described the position of shankaracharya held by Saraswati as "one of the highest spiritual posts in Sanatan tradition" and alleged that the entire episode appeared to have been "orchestrated in a planned manner".
"We request that the background of the persons who got the FIR registered be investigated in a transparent manner by a retired high court judge and strict action be taken against them," the memorandum said.
It also sought a "fair and transparent probe" into the allegations levelled against Saraswati so that the truth could be established.
Earlier, Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai had told reporters in Varanasi after meeting Saraswati that the party stood firmly with him.
The Congress said it would continue to press for an impartial inquiry into the entire episode.
On February 21, an FIR was lodged in Prayagraj against Saraswati and his disciple Mukundanand Brahmachari on charges of sexually abusing two persons, including a minor, over the past year at a gurukul and religious congregations, including the recently concluded Magh Mela.
Days after he was booked, Saraswati had said on Monday that he would not oppose his arrest and asserted that the "fabricated story" would be exposed sooner or later.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Saraswati alleged that criminals rule in Uttar Pradesh, level allegations and influence investigations, as he denied having any contact with the two persons for whose alleged sexual abuse he has been booked.
_vb_77.jpeg)
_vb_00.jpeg)
