Pooja Singh (athlete)

Last updated

Pooja Singh
Personal information
Born (2007-02-21) 21 February 2007 (age 18)
Haryana, India
Sport
CountryFlag of India.svg  India
Sport Athletics
Event High jump
Coached byBalwan Singh
Achievements and titles
Personal best1.89 m NU20R (2025)
Medal record
Women's athletics Athletics pictogram.svg
Representing Flag of India.svg  India
Asian Athletics Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2025 Gumi High Jump
Asian U20 Championships
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2023 Yecheon High jump
Asian U18 Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2023 Tashkent High jump
Commonwealth Youth Games
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2023 Trinidad and Tobago High jump

Pooja Singh (born 21 February 2007) is an Indian athlete. She competes in the high jump event and is the current Asian champion, having won the gold medal at the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships. [1]

Contents

Early life

Pooja hails from Bosti village, Fatehabad district in Haryana. Her father Hansraj is a construction worker. [2] Coach Balwan Singh Patra spotted Pooja while during a yoga session and was impressed with her yoga postures, charasana and dhanurasana (yoga forms) and recruited her and started training her as a high jumper. [3]

Career

Pooja started her jumps under coach Balwan Singh at a small facility at Para Sports Academy which had no landing mats. But soon she won the gold in the under 14 category with a jump of 1.41m. [4] Though an injury kept her out of action for about 15 months, she made a winning return at the 2022 Junior Nationals where she won the high jump gold with a National record of 1.76m. In the same year, later she claimed the gold in the 2022 Youth under 18 Youth National Championships. [4]

In April 2023, she won a gold at the 2023 Asian U18 Athletics Championships in Tashkent. [3] In June 2023, she won a silver medal at the 2023 20th Asian U20 Athletics Championships in Yecheon, South Korea. [5] In July 2023, she took part in the Asian Athletics Championships, Supachalasai National Stadium, Bangkok. She finished seventh with a jump of 1.75m. In August 2023, she also won a bronze at the Seventh Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad & Tobago. [6] [7]

In August 2024, she finished second in the high jump event of the qualification round at the World Athletics Under 20 Championships at Lima. She jumped 1.83m which is an Indian National Under 20 record. [4] In December 2024, she jumped 1.85m in the under 18 Girls heptathlon event at the 39th National Junior Athletics Championship at Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar. [8]

International competitions

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing Flag of India.svg  India
2023 Asian U18 Championships Tashkent, Uzbekistan 1stHigh jump1.77 m
Asian U20 Championships Yecheon, South Korea 2ndHigh jump1.82 m
Asian Championships Bangkok, Thailand 7thHigh jump 1.75 m
Asian Games Hangzhou, China 6thHigh jump 1.80 m
2025 Asian Championships Gumi, South Korea 1stHigh jump 1.89 m

Seasonal bests

YearDateLocationPerformanceNotes
202215 November Guwahati, India1.76 m
20236 June Yecheon, South Korea1.82 m
20249 December Bhubaneshwar, India1.85 m
202530 May Gumi, South Korea1.89 m PB, NU20R

References

  1. "Pooja wins gold, becomes 2nd Indian woman high jumper to medal at Asian Athletics Championships". sportstar.thehindu.com. 30 May 2025. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
  2. Selvaraj, Jonathan (13 June 2023). "Haryana mason's daughter, Pooja, takes flight in Indian athletics". sportstar.thehindu.com. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  3. 1 2 "Spotted at yoga camp, teen high jumps to Asian Games". The Times of India. 21 September 2023. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 PTI (30 August 2024). "World Athletics U-20 Championships 2024: Pooja Singh breaks U-20 NR in high jump to qualify for final". Sportstar. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  5. PTI (30 August 2024). "Pooja Singh breaks U20 NR in high jump to qualify for final at World U20 C'ships". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  6. "Commonwealth Youth Games: India win a silver, two bronze on final day". Commonwealth Youth Games: India win a silver, two bronze on final day. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  7. Mangale, Kalyani (12 August 2023). "Asha wins silver at CW Youth Games". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  8. Das, Tanmay (9 December 2024). "Pooja jumps her personal best of 1.85 m in heptathlon high jump". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 6 April 2025.