Lagatar24 Desk
Fatehabad, June 14: When Indians claim that it is also famous for its ‘jugaad’, then Pooja proves this right. A 16-year-old, daughter of a Mason, from Haryana’s Fatehabad district came back home with a silver medal in the high jump from the Asian U-20 Championships, held on June 6 in Yecheon, Korea. With the registered best attempt of 1.82m high jump, she rewrote both the U-18 and U-20 records, also making her India’s current season leader across all age-groups. Father Hansraj, who says he has no idea about sports, is all praises for her and proud of her achievements. “Khade khade mere sir ke upar se taap jayegi ye”, says Hansraj.
So with no sports background, how did this young girl reach such appreciating heights? The answer is with her coach Balwan Patra, who has been running an academy in a neighbourhood village and has been training Pooja since 2017. He recalls and says that Pooja had come with her father to join my academy to learn yoga but during the general physical tests, he observed that she had a lot of strength in her lower body, especially her calves. After much thought, he wanted Pooja to try out the high jump but ceased with a problem. “We didn’t have a jumping pit. Humne kuch Jugaad kiya. We got hay from nearby fields and stitched them in sacks and used bamboo sticks as the bar, a setup to learn the basics”. Adding further, he says, “Usually when you hit the bar while jumping, it falls off. But in our setup, the whole unit comes down”, as the other trainees of the academy burst into laughter. Pooja had made to do with the Jugaad for almost a year until Patra’s friend Hanuman, also a well-known javelin coach gifted them a rundown landing pit. Praising her more he also informed that it took her only 3 months to land in jumps.
“The height which she is getting at this stage with just 5 strides is unmatchable. Elite women athletes take 8-10 strides, which gives them more velocity in the run-up. I spoke to Pooja and told her that she should gradually move to the standard 8-10 strides that will really boost her jumps”, said Sahana Kumari who set the 1.92m mark back in 2012. “I would be the happiest to see my record get broken. It shouldn’t have stood for long. Pooja has this natural talent and hunger to do well. She might not like the workout part, but ask her to jump as many times as you like, she won’t complain. If she continues like this, she can easily go beyond my record”, Sahana added further.
