Lovely Professional University’s Pooja, already an Asian champion, emerged as the centre of attention with a performance that combined dominance, confidence, and a clear statement of intent for the season ahead.
In a women’s high jump competition that thinned rapidly, Pooja was left standing alone after the rest of the field bowed out at 1.72m. From that point on, the contest became less about winning gold and more about how high the teenager was willing to push herself. She first cleared 1.85m, bettering her own meet record and underlining the gulf between her and the rest of the competition. Rather than settling for a safe finish, Pooja then made a bold call she raised the bar straight to 1.90m, a height that would have marked a new personal best.
All three attempts at 1.90m ended in failure, but there was no visible disappointment. Instead, the attempts reflected a mindset that is increasingly rare at domestic meets: the willingness to chase excellence rather than protect victory. The body language suggested belief rather than frustration, a trait that separates medal contenders from record chasers.
“My target this year is to clear 1.93m and break the national record,” Pooja said after the event. “My goals are the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and the World Juniors.” Her clarity of purpose is striking. The national record of 1.92m, set by Sahana Kumari in 2012, has stood untouched for more than a decade. By openly targeting 1.93m, Pooja is not just aiming to rewrite history, but to move Indian women’s high jump into a new competitive bracket at the continental level.
As Quoted to SportStar
Pooja’s rapid rise has already been one of the most encouraging stories in Indian athletics over the past two years. The junior national record holder raised her personal best to 1.89m while winning gold at the Asian Championships in South Korea last May, a performance that confirmed her transition from junior promise to senior success. At just 18, she has already achieved what many athletes spend an entire career chasing.
Behind the scenes, much of her progress can be attributed to a stable and focused training environment. Pooja trains at the Anju Bobby Sports Centre in Bengaluru under Uzbek coach Sergey Beeran, with Olympic Gold Quest supporting her development. Beeran has been unequivocal about the direction of their work. “Our team wants Pooja to do 1.93m this year; this is the dream,” he said, reinforcing that the target is not aspirational but planned.
The approach taken by Pooja and her support team reflects a broader shift in Indian athletics, where young athletes are being encouraged to think long-term and compete fearlessly rather than peak prematurely. Attempting 1.90m at a university meet, after already securing gold, fits squarely into that philosophy.
Ironically, while Pooja’s attempts drew most of the attention, Tanya Chaudhary’s hammer throw performance which exceeded the existing national record distance almost went unnoticed in the wider narrative of the meet. That contrast underlined how moments of visible ambition often resonate more strongly than achievements mired in administrative technicalities.
The championships themselves concluded with Madras University claiming the overall title, reaffirming their depth across events, while Mangalore University effectively the Alva’s Education Foundation team that hosted the five-day meet finished runners-up. Yet, beyond the team standings, it was individual stories like Pooja’s that gave the event its defining character.
For Indian athletics, Pooja’s performance serves as a reminder that the next generation is not content with incremental progress. The courage to attempt 1.90m, even in failure, is often a precursor to breakthroughs that follow. With a long season ahead and major international events on the horizon, the heights Pooja ultimately clears in 2026 may well define the trajectory of women’s high jump in the country.
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For now, the message from Moodubidiri was clear. The bar has been raised not just physically, but mentally and Pooja is determined to keep pushing it higher.
