“It was my father’s dream to see me representing India at the international level,” an emotional Sindhushree told The Indian Express afterwards. “Today, when I have achieved that, he is not here to see that.”

Post her father’s death, the journey wasn’t smooth for the Shivamogga native.

“Pole Vault is an expensive sport. It is tough for me as only my grandparents support me and take care of the family. My mother is a tailor and it is difficult for her to manage,” Sindhushree said.

Even the pole she used in the final was borrowed from another athlete because she couldn’t afford a new one.

“I didn’t have the right pole for my technique. Due to the financial constraints, I have been training with smaller poles. Before coming to the Inter State, I took a pole from my friend Rahul who also trains under my coach,” Sindhushree said.

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She trains at the SAI Center in Bengaluru under coach Vijeesh MM. “She perfected her technique with the small pole but since she has practiced a lot with that pole, it became loose. As she didn’t have the longer pole, we had to work on her technique so she could adjust to the smaller pole,” Vijeesh explained. “Today also, she had to reduce her steps on the runway to get her pole to give a perfect vault. She usually takes 16 steps but today she was doing it with 14 steps.”

The duo share a very strong bond as Sindhushree has complete trust in her coach. “My coach puts every bit of effort into training me. I started training under him in 2021 and since then I have improved. I started with 3.30 metres and now I am vaulting over 4.25m, so that’s a big improvement,” Sindhushree said.

The coach believes that she has potential to improve further.

“A lot of people look at her and think that she is too short for a pole vaulter but it’s a myth,” Vijeesh said.

With a national record and Asian Games qualification in her bag, Sindhushree hopes that she gets access to better training facilities and equipment.

“This national record means everything to me. It is going to change the fortunes of my family. With the national record, I think I will get more support and hopefully my diet and training facilities will improve. I will continue to train under my coach,” she said.

Vijeesh wants to improve further before she is completely ready for the Asian Games.

“4.25 metres is a good mark for her. She definitely has the potential to go further. A good thing about her is her resilience. She was stuck at 3.80m for a couple of years, however, she didn’t give up,” he said. “We figured out what was wrong. What she needs to improve on and we worked on it. Today, the result is here.”

For Sindhushree, participation at the Asian Games is more than just realising a dream. “It is going to be a moment of a lifetime for me. Right now, I am soaking everything in,” she quipped.

With a borrowed pole, a passport photo of her late father, and dreams to have India on the back of her jersey, Sindhushree is ready to jump to greater heights

Animesh books Asiad berth

Ace Indian sprinter Animesh Kujur booked his berth for the Asian Games with a timing of 20.74s in the final. Coming on the back of a bronze medal at the Asian Relay Championships, Animesh aimed to qualify for the Asian Games and wasn’t looking to register a spectacular timing. The qualification standard for the Asiad is 20.88S. “I was here to book my berth and the idea was to get that. Now, I will focus on getting better timings,” Animesh said after his race.

In men’s decathlon, Thowfeeq N and Kushal Mohite breached the qualification mark of 7,250 points for the Asian Games with 7,296 and 7,251 points respectively.

National record holder Mohammed Afsal P and Krishan Kumar also booked their berths in the 800 metres.