Indian high jumper Pooja Singh struck gold at the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea, on Friday, ending a 25-year-long wait for India in the event. Her victory was a breath of fresh air for the country, which hadn바카라™t seen a female high jump champion since Bobby Aloysius won gold in 2000 and silver in 2002.
Pooja바카라™s win signaled a fresh wave in Indian athletics. At only 18, the young talent from Bosti village in Haryana바카라™s Fatehabad district cleared a personal best of 1.89m, overcoming tough competition to become the youngest Indian to claim the Asian high jump title.
Pooja Singh바카라™s Journey From Bosti Village To Asian Athletics Championships 2025
Pooja바카라™s journey was full of hurdles long before she ever took a winning leap.
Born to a mason father and a homemaker mother, she grew up in Bosti village in Haryana바카라™s Fatehabad district, where money was tight, but resolve ran deep.
Every step she took reflected her knack for making do, finding a way, and pushing forward with whatever was at hand.
Even at the Asian Athletics Championships, when Pooja바카라™s shoe tore, she didn바카라™t hesitate, she taped it up and pushed on.
That tape wasn바카라™t just holding her shoe together; it carried the story of years of 바카라˜jugaad바카라™. That바카라™s how it all began. Pooja바카라™s coach, Balwan Singh, though mostly self-taught, was determined to shape her into an international contender.
With scarce resources, they got creative, a bamboo stick stood in for the high bar, sacks of rice husk made a makeshift landing mat, and a rubber tyre served as a springboard.
Meanwhile, her father often borrowed money just to send her to competitions, fueling her dreams despite the odds.
Now, with her gold medal at the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships, Pooja바카라™s journey is just beginning. It바카라™s not only fans like us who see the significance of her achievement, Tejaswin Shankar also believes Pooja바카라™s medal carries the deepest meaning.
Clearing a personal best of 1.89m in the women바카라™s high jump, Pooja admitted the path to her first senior-level medal wasn바카라™t easy, but the victory was a well-deserved reward for all her hard work and dedication.
Pooja Singh: Medal Record
Asian Athletics Championships 2025, Gumi - Gold Medal (1st place), High Jump
Asian U20 Championships 2023, Yecheon - Silver Medal (2nd place), High Jump
Asian U18 Championships 2023, Tashkent - Gold Medal (1st place), High Jump
Commonwealth Youth Games 2023, Trinidad and Tobago - Bronze Medal (3rd place), High Jump
