Despite torn spikes, teenager Pooja leaps to high jump gold at Asian Athletics – and is leading a revolution in her village

The national record would have been a bonus. But 18-year-old Pooja had entered the record books by rewriting her own national Under-20 record, an improvement of four centimetres, en route to winning her first senior international medal. Since Aloysius’s gold — she also won a silver in the next edition — the top of the podium place has been the preserve of the jumpers from Kyrgyzstan, China and Uzbekistan.

Coach Balwan believes the national record would have fallen if not for the torn spike Pooja wore on her left foot during the final. Balwan said Pooja wears Nike spikes. But the left spike frayed and came apart during a practice session. “Her regular Nike shoes split. She had an Adidas pair too, but she didn’t get the right feel when she wore those spikes as she felt she could not control her jump. So she decided to wear the torn spikes because she was more comfortable in them. If her spikes were good, she could have equalled the national record,” Balwan told The Indian Express.

Pooja was happy that her first medal at a senior international competition was a gold. “My body was very well in sync and I would have cleared that 1.92m mark but missed it. Nevertheless, a personal best and gold medal is really good for me. In the last edition I did 1.75 (metres) but this time I improved, so this is a good medal for me at the age of 18,” Pooja said post the final.

India’s chief national coach Radhakrishnan Nair said he was pleasantly surprised that Pooja clinched the gold. The veteran coach said she has a bright future. “Of course, I was expecting that she would do 1.85-plus but it was not assured with the gold medal. It was an excellent performance by her, comparing her age. She is developing every year. She can be a very good high jumper,” Nair said.

Rice husks and hay-filled sacks

Coach Balwan has given her the target of winning gold at next year’s Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games. Even when she is travelling, thousands of kilometres from her village, Pooja is on the phone with Balwan multiple times a day. Post the press conference on Friday, Pooja rang up her long-time coach.

Theirs is a partnership that goes back to when Pooja was into yogasana and gymnastics. Balwan didn’t have a landing mat or any equipment to train high jumpers at his academy, named after his village — Patra Sports Academy, located at a school premises.

“We used rice husks and hay to fill sacks. Those sacks formed the landing mat,” Balwan said of the time when Pooja transitioned from yogasana and gymnastics to high jump. Pooja’s father Hansraj Singh is a mason with a daily wage. He was open to the idea of enrolling his daughter at Balwan’s academy. Pooja heard about the academy after she saw Balwan’s trainees perform yogasana at a village function. “Her father brought her to my academy. I trained her in gymnastics and also yoga. Back then there were no high jumpers training at the academy,” coach Balwan recalled.

Balwan, a former 800 metres runner, however was impressed by Pooja’s flexibility, explosive power and strength in her legs. He took a gamble and asked Pooja if she wanted to try high jump. “Her first jump was about 90 centimetres. I knew immediately that she had a natural ability in the high jump.”

Pooja spoke about the jugaad she and her coach resorted to in the early days. “I picked up high jump because my coach was confident. When I started there was no proper mat, but I broke the Under-16 record. I have gone through a lot to reach here.”

With Pooja’s fortunes improving, the facilities at Patra’s academy were also upgraded. A quality landing mat was gifted by former Asian Games and Commonwealth Games medal-winning discus thrower Seema Antil. “After Pooja qualified for the Asian Games, Seema called me and asked what I needed. When she knew the mat was old, she said that she would get a new one. In less than a month, Seema ensured we had a new mat. Pooja trained on that mat for the Asian Games. We are grateful to Seema,” Balwan said.

In Patra, there is a mini revolution in high jump following Pooja’s success. “Lot of kids want to be in the high jump. Pooja was the only high jumper, now there are 10 high jumpers in the academy — from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. Pooja has inspired a lot of athletes to become high jumpers.”