An untrained high jumper who is the daughter of a mason, hay sacks used as a makeshift high jump pit, a bamboo pole used as a bar, and a physical education instructor at the school. It may not appear to be the ideal recipe for success, but it is the story of Pooja, a 16-year-old high jumper. The adolescent travelled back from the recent Asian U-20 Championships in Yecheon, Korea, with a silver medal from Haryana's Fatehabad district, which is roughly a four-hour drive from the capital. 

The wiry jumper recorded a best effort of 1.82m, breaking both the U-18 and U-20 national records and becoming India's current leader across all age divisions. Pooja’s father Hansraj who claims to know nothing about the sport, is both pleased and in awe at his daughter's accomplishments. “Khade khade mere sir ke upar se taap jayegi ye toh” (She can easily leap above my head.), who puts through over 10 hours a day of labor for a pitiful 500 rupees each day. 

Balwan Patra, Pooja's coach, is most likely the finest candidate to respond to Hansraj's innocent query. Since 2017, Patra and Pooja have collaborated. Patra oversees an academy in a nearby community with about 30 kids. Balwan stated that her explosiveness helps us acquire so much height. Pooja just had one goal in mind when she and her father first entered the academy to get trained in yoga. 

However, Balwan saw that she had a lot of strength in her lower half, particularly in her calves, during general physical testing. The high jump coach at the school thought she had found her niche and was anxious to give Pooja another shot, but there was a significant obstacle. He explained. "There was no leaping pit. We collected hay from surrounding farms and sewed it into bags. As a bar, we utilized a bamboo stick. "That's where she learned the fundamentals of jumping,”. 

For over a year, Pooja had to make do with "jugaad" until Patra's pal and well-known javelin instructor Hanuman gave them a dilapidated landing pit. There is still the bamboo bar. Pooja's fast thinking is another one of her strengths. She had only turned 12 when she first learned about the traditional Fosbury Flop. 

The typical scissor leap is where most young jumpers start off, but it takes them a while to master the Fosbury Flop. She encountered an unusual hurdle a few years ago when competing in age-group events. The Fosbury method is risky, so the Federation forbade juvenile jumpers from using it. "You can get hurt if you land awkwardly on your neck," warned Pooja. 

She therefore developed her own special way of leaping using the scissor method and landing with the Fosbury method. Sahana Kumari, whose national senior high jump record has remained unbroken for almost a decade, took a good look at Pooja at last month's preliminary national camp in Bengaluru. The Sports Authority of India instructor was so pleased by her explosiveness and hard work ethic that she was willing to bet that the teenager would smash her 1.92-metre record. Sahana added that pooja can easily go beyond her record.