Pooja Singh, just 19, soared over 1.93m on Friday to take the gold medal at the Asian U20 Athletics Championship. In doing so, she broke Sahana Kumari’s senior national record, which had stood unbroken since 2012.
The Haryana girl first soared over 1.91m, resetting her own personal best and U20 national record, before raising the bar to 1.93m. After clipping the bar on her first attempt, she regathered herself and altered the history.
What followed was pure emotion. She broke down in tears on the synthetic track, trying to let the historic moment sink in.
Pooja also took a brave shot at the Asian Junior Record of 1.96m and missed it narrowly.
At just 19, she now holds both India’s U20 and senior national high jump records. In doing so, she breached the 1.92m Commonwealth Games qualifying mark.
Injury Setback and Return
Exactly a year ago in Gumi, South Korea, competing on a skiddy track with a torn spike patched up using kinesiology tape, Pooja won gold at the Asian Athletics Championship, leaping 1.89m.
Months later, she sustained a Grade 2 ligament tear that threatened her meteoric rise, forcing her off the track.
Returning from injury, the 19-year-old joined a new coach, Sergey Biran of Uzbekistan, who coached his wife Svetlana Radzivil to three Asian Games titles. The guidance paid off as she won silver at the Asian Indoor Championship in February 2026.
At the Delhi leg of the Indian Athletics Series in April, Pooja cleared a personal best, touching 1.90m for the first time. She attempted 1.92m, but fell short.
Still hungry and unsatisfied, she told RevSportz moments after gathering her breath following the final attempt, “Aaj to 1.92m ho jaata (Today, I could have cleared 1.92m).”
That hunger found its reward in Hong Kong on Friday at the Asian U20 Athletics Championships.
With 1.93m, Pooja etched her name in history, becoming Asia’s joint second-best U20 women’s high jumper of all time. She equalled Japan’s Yoko Hunnicutt’s 1993 mark and now stands behind Kyrgyzstan’s Tatyana Efimenko, whose 1.95m effort was set in 1999. She also became Asia’s best junior high jumper of the last two decades.
For the reigning senior and junior Asian champion, the next big targets could be podium finishes at the Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and World Athletics U20 Championships.
Double Podium Finish in Decathlon
Apart from Pooja’s gold, India also delivered a strong performance in the decathlon.
After grinding through two days across 10 events, Rahul Jakhar amassed 7,185 points to clinch the gold medal, setting a new U20 national record in the decathlon. He was followed by compatriot Upkar Singh Gurjar, who secured silver with 6,854 points.
Nitin Gupta in the 5,000m race walk and Amanat Kamboj in the men’s discus throw also secured gold medals for India.
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