In challenging conditions, under cloudy skies in Gumi, South Korea, at the Asian Athletics Championships 2025, India’s teenage sensation Pooja Singh scripted history. With torn spikes patched up using kinesiology tape, the 18-year-old took a remarkable leap of 1.89m, breaking her own U-20 national record and clinching the gold medal in women’s high jump.
Despite the odds, Pooja didn’t stop there. She attempted to clear 1.92m, aiming to surpass the senior national record set by Sahana Kumari in 2012. Though she narrowly missed out, her 1.89m leap was enough to secure the top spot on the podium.
Pooja began her 2025 season with a gold medal at the National Games, registering a jump of 1.84m. But her real breakthrough in this season came on the evening of Friday, May 30, in Gumi. With that gold-winning leap, she became the first Indian in 25 years to win a high-jump gold at the Asian Championships, joining the elite company of Bobby Aloysius, who won gold in 2000 and silver in 2002.
Hailing from the small village of Bosti in Fatehabad district, Haryana, Pooja comes from a humble background. Her father works as a mason, while her mother is a homemaker. Like many children, Pooja initially went to the local ground just to play. It was there she saw children practicing yoga and gymnastics, which piqued her interest. Encouraged by her curiosity, her parents spoke to the coach and enrolled her in yoga and gymnastics classes and that marked the beginning of Pooja’s incredible journey in sports.
After her record-breaking, historic medal win, Pooja shared her thoughts with RevSportz and Boria Majumdar.
Boria Majumdar: Congratulations on your fantastic performance in Gumi, South Korea. Tell us about that 1.89m leap and your performance at the Asian Championship?
Pooja: First, I would like to thank everyone, AFI and all the supporting staff. Everyone supported me so much, because their support helped me win a medal and yesterday was a very remarkable day for me. I am very happy that I was able to win a medal.
Boria: Tell us a little bit about the mindset and the competition?
Pooja: The mindset is important, sir. It’s not like you just reach the stadium and it happens. I had already decided that I would give my best.
It wasn’t about the medal for me – whether it’s gold, silver, or bronze. I wasn’t thinking about that. I just wanted to give my best and aim for my personal best. Because, if I perform at my best, I can reach my U20 record. And if I go beyond that, I could even go for the national record.
With that mindset, I stepped on to the field. After clearing 1.86, I became more confident and I felt that, yes, today I can do 1.92. Next time, I’ll try to clear 1.92m.
Boria: Tell us a bit about your journey, from U20 success to the senior level and the role your family and support system played along the way?
Pooja: I come from a small village, and when I first joined the ground, it wasn’t specifically for high jump. I was initially sent there for yoga and gymnastics. I had seen a show in the village where some children from the ground were doing yoga and gymnastics. I really liked it, so I spoke to my parents and told them I wanted to do it too. They spoke to the coach and got me enrolled.
Boria: How old were you then? What was your age when you started?
Pooja: I was probably around 10 years old at the time I started doing yoga and gymnastics, which I continued for two years. I also played Kho Kho and Kabaddi just for fun. I tried everything. For the first two years, I didn’t focus on any specific sport; I was simply enjoying myself. Then in 2019, I began training in high jump, long jump, and triple jump. Among these, high jump turned out to be my strongest event, and I eventually focused on it and got selected.
It’s not like I don’t do long jump or triple jump, but high jump became the main event for me.
Boria: Pooja, there has been a controversy regarding your spikes. It was seen that the spikes were torn, and you had to compete with those spikes. Can you tell us exactly what happened? Because when I asked the AFI, they told me that you had a pair of Adidas spikes and a pair of Nike spikes, a new pair that you didn’t want to wear for the competition. Can you tell us exactly what happened?
Pooja: The day I went to the ground for the first time to do the jump session, due to the rain the track was wet, and this track was so speedy that it makes it very difficult for me to control the speed.
My speed was based on my own rhythm. Some tracks are fast too, so when I started blocking, the spikes were a little wet and tore from the side. It’s not that no one tried to help, everyone did ask but I couldn’t jump in new spikes just like that. I didn’t have the right mindset for it. The other pair, the Adidas spikes, were even faster. With those, I couldn’t control my speed at all, so I had to do something. The Nike ones suited me better, so I taped them up properly and jumped in them.
Everyone told me, “Let’s try, if we get new spikes here, then you can jump in them.”
But the thing is, new spikes can’t be adjusted immediately. It takes at least a month to get set in new spikes. So, I wasn’t confident that new ones would work for me. But I had full confidence in my own spikes. No matter what condition they were in, they wouldn’t betray me. I could do anything with them. That’s why I taped them up properly and jumped in them.
Boria: So, what did you do? How much work did you do on those spikes? Because I was looking at the photo of the spikes … how much work did you do on it?
Pooja: I taped it a little and covered it well so that I don’t face any problems in the competition. If it goes well, then we can arrange new spikes. Whatever happens, we’ll see. But at least for this competition, I need these spikes. That’s why I don’t want to use new ones.
Boria: These spikes will go to your home museum because it has helped you a lot.
Pooja: No, sir, I already have my previous spikes. Sir, it’s nothing like that. Yes, there are new spikes. That doesn’t mean I’ll forget the old ones. I have one more lucky spike before this, sir. I still have it.
Boria: Thank you. At least, you cleared the controversy. Because it was going around that you were not helped. Good to know that you got support.
Pooja: No, sir, it’s nothing like that. Everyone tried to help. First of all, it was difficult to get new spikes so quickly. And even if I had managed to get a pair, I wouldn’t have been able to adjust to them immediately. That’s why I didn’t say anything like I want new spikes immediately. Anyway, I was not going to use my new spikes now. I had decided to jump in the old ones.
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