India’s campaign at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Oregon, USA, ended with three medals after high jumper Pooja Singh finished seventh in the women’s final, falling well short of the national senior record that had raised expectations around her title bid.The 19-year-old Pooja could clear only 1.84m in the final and failed in all three attempts at 1.87m. Her performance was below the 1.93m national senior record she set while winning gold at the Asian U20 Athletics Championships in May.Pooja, who is also the reigning Senior Asian Athletics Championships gold medallist, had entered the competition as one of India’s leading medal hopes.Australia’s Izobelle Louison-Roe won the gold with a clearance of 1.92m. Hungary’s Lilianna Batori and Spain’s Aitana Alonso both cleared 1.90m, with Batori taking silver and Alonso bronze.
India finish with two silver, one bronze
India’s women’s 4x400m relay team also ended its campaign with a ninth-place finish in the final. Bhoomika Nehate, Tahura Khatun, Tanu Chaudhary and Thiya Arumugam clocked 3:45.28 to finish last.The United States won gold in 3:29.15, followed by Australia (3:31.39) and Great Britain (3:32.08).India’s three-medal haul comprised two silver and one bronze, matching the country’s medal tally from the 2021 and 2022 editions of the championships.Ashish Yadav opened India’s medal count with silver in the men’s javelin throw, before Basant Kumar Meghwal added another silver in the men’s high jump. Shahnavaz Khan then secured bronze in the men’s long jump.
India continue to build U20 medal record
While the campaign ended without a gold medal, the three-medal haul underlined India’s improved consistency at the global junior level.Between 2002 and 2018, India won only four medals at the World Athletics U20 Championships. Those included historic gold medals from Neeraj Chopra in the men’s javelin throw in 2016 and Hima Das in the women’s 400m in 2018.Discus thrower Seema Antil won India’s first medal at the championships, taking silver in 2002, while Navjeet Kaur Dhillon added bronze in the same event in 2014.India subsequently won three medals in 2021, including silver medals for Amit in the men’s 10,000m race walk and Shaili Singh in the women’s long jump, besides a bronze in the mixed 4x400m relay.The 2022 edition brought three more medals, with Selva Prabhu Thirumaran and the mixed 4x400m relay team winning silver and Rupal Chaudhary taking bronze.India managed only one medal in the 2024 edition, with Aarti winning bronze in the women’s 10,000m race walk.The three-medal haul in the latest edition therefore represents a return to the stronger medal returns of 2021 and 2022.
