Pooja soars from Haryana’s fields to Asia’s record books
HONG KONG—On a humid evening at the 22nd Asian U20 Athletics Championships, all eyes turned to the high jump pit.
With a calm breath and a determined gaze, Pooja Singh of India sprinted down the runway, lifted off, and cleared 1.93 meters, a leap that not only won her gold but shattered the meet record that stood for 20 years.
As she landed, the crowd celebrated in unison and it took a while before Pooja picked herself up, the joy of another milestone written in her face as tears welled up.
``This was for my family, my coaches, and for every young girl who dreams of flying higher than the limits set before her,’’ said Pooja during the post-competition interview, her voice trembling with emotion.
Pooja’s journey has been marked by steady climbs and dramatic comebacks. Growing up in modest circumstances in Bosti village in Haryana, athletics was never the family’s plan until coach Balwan Singh Patra spotted her unusual flexibility during a yoga session.
With no landing mats and minimal facilities, Pooja engaged herself and trained relentlessly, often falling hard but rising stronger. That resilience became her trademark.
``When I saw the bar at 1.93, I remembered all the times I trained without mats, falling on the ground. Clearing it gave me so much happiness and relief,’’ said Pooja.
She eclipsed the 1.90m record of Uzbekistan’s Svetlana Radzivil set in 2006 while resetting Sahana Kumari’s 2012 national record of 1.92m.
Meiqi Chen of China placed second (1.80m) and Pei-hsuan Lin of Chinese Taipei cleared 1.72m for the bronze medal.
Prior to her U20 feat at the Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground, Pooja is already a continental champion after winning it in the 2025 Asian Championships in Gumi, South Korea with a leap of 1.89m.
Her record-breaking jump also secured qualification for the 2026 Commonwealth Games, where she will represent India among the world’s elite.
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