Jyothi aims for fresh surge after Paris Olympics disappointment

There're good reasons why Jyothi Yarraji calls her recent stint in South Africa the "best training camp" she has been to.

- Shantanu Srivastava

NEW DELHI: For one, the university town of Stellenbosch was a welcome relief from the din at home.

Then, she was in some elite company. The 25-year-old trained with Dutch hurdler Nadine Visser who finished fourth at the Paris Olympics (12.43secs) — 12.78secs is Yarraji's best — and bonded with four-time Olympic medallist Femke Bol.

Yarraji also got to present the Player of the Match award at the SA20 fixture between Joburg Super Kings and MI Cape Town, but it was the track and gym sessions with the Dutch national team that put her in the right mindspace — perhaps even showed her the mirror — while she was still hurting from a below-par show at the Olympics.

"There is no comparison between the way they train and how we approach training. They are extremely focused and very relaxed. It's something I wish to learn and implement," she said. "They focus on three critical components of hurdling — lead, block and finish — individually. Their training is extremely sophisticated."