Pooja Singh Finishes Seventh as India End World Athletics U20 Campaign with Three Medals

India concluded their World Athletics U20 Championships campaign with three medals after national senior record holder Pooja Singh finished seventh in the women’s high jump final.

The 19-year-old entered the event as one of the leading contenders after clearing a national senior record of 1.93m earlier this year. However, she could manage only 1.84m in the final before failing all three attempts at 1.87m.

Australia’s Izobelle Louison-Roe claimed the gold medal with a 1.92m clearance. Hungary’s Lilianna Batori and Spain’s Aitana Alonso shared the podium with silver and bronze after both cleared 1.90m.

Pooja had enjoyed an impressive season before the championships. In May, she won gold at the Asian U20 Athletics Championships with her record-breaking 1.93m jump. She is also the reigning champion at the Senior Asian Athletics Championships.

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India’s women’s 4x400m relay team also had a difficult outing, finishing ninth and last in the final in 3:45.28. The quartet comprised Bhoomika Nehate, Tahura Khatun, Tanu Chaudhary and Thiya Arumugam.

The United States won the relay gold in 3:29.15, followed by Australia with silver in 3:31.39 and Great Britain with bronze in 3:32.08.

India ended the championships with two silver medals and a bronze, matching the country’s medal haul from the 2021 and 2022 editions.

Ashish Yadav opened India’s medal account with silver in the men’s javelin throw. Basant Kumar Meghwal then added another silver in the men’s high jump, while Shahnavaz Khan secured bronze in the men’s long jump.

India’s improving performance at the World Athletics U20 Championships marks a notable shift from its earlier record. Between 2002 and 2018, India won only four medals at the event. That tally included gold medals for Neeraj Chopra in the men’s javelin throw in 2016 and Hima Das in the women’s 400m in 2018.

Seema Antil won India’s first medal at the championships, taking silver in the women’s discus throw in Jamaica in 2002. Navjeet Kaur Dhillon later won bronze in the same event at the 2014 edition in the United States.

India added three medals at the 2021 championships. Amit won silver in the men’s 10,000m race walk, Shaili Singh took silver in the women’s long jump, and the mixed 4x400m relay team secured bronze.

At the 2022 edition, Selva Prabhu Thirumaran won silver in the men’s triple jump, while India’s mixed 4x400m relay team also finished second. Rupal Chaudhary added a bronze in the women’s 400m.

India won just one medal at the 2024 championships, with Aarti claiming bronze in the women’s 10,000m race walk.

The latest three-medal haul underlines India’s growing presence on the global junior athletics stage, even as Pooja’s seventh-place finish brought the country’s campaign to a close.