Pooja Singh broke the national record in the high jump to win the gold in the Asian Under-20 Championships
Indian high jumper Pooja Singh produced the performance of her career at the Asian Under-20 Athletics Championships, winning gold while breaking a 14-year-old national record and breaking the Commonwealth Games qualifying standard.
The 20-year-old cleared 1.93m in Hong Kong, breaking Sahana Kumari’s long-standing national record of 1.92m, which stood since 2011. In the process, Pooja not only became India’s new high jump record holder, but also broke the Commonwealth Games qualifying mark of 1.92m.
It remains to be seen whether the Athletics Federation of India will grant her an exemption, given that the Federation Cup has been earmarked as the final qualifier. But purely on performance, Pooja has now created a leap worthy of a place on the Commonwealth Games stage.
Pooja breaks the U20 national record again and equals the 2nd best height ever in India!
India’s Pooja cleared a massive 1.91m in the women’s high jump final at the ongoing 2026 Asian U20 Athletics Championships.
With this jump:
She improved her own under-20 national team pic.twitter.com/LqZ6LS78iV— nnis Sports (@nnis_sports) May 29, 2026
HOW POOJA SINGH BREAKED THE NATIONAL HEIGHT RECORD
Competing against some of the best young Asian jumpers, Pooja produced a landmark performance in Hong Kong.
After confidently negotiating earlier heights, the Indian athlete cleared 1.93m to clinch the gold, set a new national record and move past the Commonwealth Games qualifying standard.
The brand was significant on multiple fronts.
It ended Sahana Kumari’s 14-year reign as India’s national record holder, brought India its first-ever high jump gold at the Under-20 Asian Championships and reinforced Pooja’s growing reputation as one of the most promising jumpers in world junior athletics.
Pooja breaks down in tears during the National Anthem!
After a historic day at the 2026 Asian Under-20 Athletics Championships, Pooja was seen teary-eyed as the Indian national anthem played during the medal ceremony.
What a day it was for the 19 year old pic.twitter.com/172mWt6vbV— nnis Sports (@nnis_sports) May 29, 2026
The performance also added another major title to an already impressive resume that includes medals at the Asian Championships, Asian Indoor Championships, Asian Under-20 Championships, Asian Under-18 Championships and South Asian Under-20 Championships.
A growing list of achievements already makes Pooja one of the most successful young jumpers in Indian athletics:
- 2026 Asian U20 Championship – Gold Medal (1.93m, National Record)
- Commonwealth Games qualifying mark broken (1.92m)
- Asian U20 Championship 2023 – Silver Medal
- Asian Championship medalist
- Asian Indoor Championship medalist
- Asian U18 Championship medalist
- South Asian U20 Championship medalist
- Senior women, national record holder in the high jump (1.93m)
- U20 national record holder
- The best U20 high jumper in Asia in 2026
- Between the top two U20 high jumpers in the world this season
With a departure of 1.93 m in Hong Kong, however, Pooja moved into a completely different category. She is now India’s top female high jumper and potentially a genuine contender for the Commonwealth Games.
– The end
Issued by:
Debodinna Chakraborty
Published on:
29 May 2026 18:02 IST