Dev Meena at a glance

• Full name: Dev Kumar Meena
• Born: 7 May 2005, Dewas district, Madhya Pradesh
• Age: 21
• State: Madhya Pradesh
• Event: Pole vault
• Personal best: 5.50m, national record (Asian Games, Nagoya, 29 September 2026)
• Headline results: seventh at the Asian Games 2026, fourth at the Commonwealth Games 2026, bronze at the 2024 Asian U20 Championships
• Education: Bachelor of Arts student, Khalsa College, Amritsar
• Off the track: trains at the Madhya Pradesh Athletics Academy in Bhopal under coach Ghanshyam Yadav

Pooja Singh, India’s women’s high jump record holder at 1.93m, has joined VEL Sports, the athlete management company founded by Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra. Here is why the move matters for her and for Indian athletics.

At 19, India’s national record holder has already outgrown one training environment, recovered from a serious injury and moved into a new management setup. Her journey raises a larger question: who gets to shape the careers of India’s most promising athletes?

Pooja Singh has cleared 1.93 metres in the high jump, won an Asian senior title and collected an Asian Games medal. She is still only 19. Yet the story of her rapid rise is not just about how high she can jump. It is also about the changing relationships between athletes, coaches, academies, sponsors and the management companies increasingly eager to represent India’s emerging stars.

Her recent move to VEL Sports Management, founded by Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra, is part of that story. But the signing itself is no longer the news. What matters is what it represents.

A new kind of career move in Indian athletics

Across Indian athletics, exceptional young athletes are beginning to move beyond the people and institutions that first nurtured them. As their performances improve, so do their requirements. A coach who can take an athlete to a national junior title may not have the facilities, technical resources or international connections needed to prepare the same athlete for a World Championships final.

For the athlete, changing coaches or training bases can become a necessary step forward. For a management agency, securing the signature of a young national record holder is an opportunity to invest in a career that could become commercially valuable.

Both sides have something to gain. The question is whether the athlete’s development remains the organising principle of the relationship.

Pooja Singh before VEL Sports: her rise under her first coach

Pooja’s journey offers an unusually clear illustration of how this process works.

She began her career under Balwan Singh Parta, the coach who guided her from promising youngster to national champion and eventually an Asian gold medallist. Their partnership produced a remarkable sequence of results.

In 2022, Pooja won the national under-16 high jump title with a clearance of 1.76m. The following year, she won gold at the Asian U18 Championships with 1.77m and silver at the Asian U20 Championships with 1.82m, crossing the 1.80m barrier for the first time.

Her development was not confined to the high jump. In 2024, she competed in the under-18 heptathlon and bettered the national record. At the Junior Nationals at Bhubaneswar’s Kalinga Stadium, she also cleared a then-personal best of 1.84m in the high jump while competing in the combined event, improving the national under-20 high jump mark within the heptathlon.

By the beginning of 2025, she had become one of Indian athletics’ most intriguing young prospects.

She cleared 1.84m at the National Games, improved to 1.85m at the Indian Open and then travelled to Gumi, South Korea, for the Asian Athletics Championships.

There, she cleared 1.89m to win gold.

In three years, Pooja had progressed from 1.76m to 1.89m. She had become a continental champion while still a teenager. And she had done it all under Balwan Singh.

That last detail is important.

The coaches who find India’s talent

Much of India’s athletics talent continues to emerge through coaches working far from the country’s best-funded training centres. They identify athletes early, teach them the fundamentals and spend years developing their abilities. By the time an athlete becomes attractive to sponsors or management companies, much of the difficult work has already been done.

The role of the first coach is sometimes lost in the excitement surrounding the athlete’s next professional move.

Yet that move may also be entirely justified.

Injury, a new coach and the 1.93m national record

Pooja’s 2025 season ended prematurely after she suffered a Grade 2 ligament tear following the Asian Championships. The injury forced her to withdraw from the World University Games, interrupting what had been the most successful period of her career.

During her rehabilitation, Olympic Gold Quest, which was supporting her, brought in Serega Biran to work with her. She shifted her training base to the Anju Bobby George Academy in Bengaluru.

It was a significant change, arriving at a moment when Pooja needed more than a conventional training programme. Recovering from injury while preparing to compete at a higher international level required careful management of her physical condition and technical development.

The results that followed were encouraging.

She returned at the Khelo India University Games, winning gold with 1.77m. At the All India Inter-University Championships, she improved her own meet record to 1.85m and collected another gold.

Then came silver at the Asian Indoor Championships with 1.87m, her second-best performance at the time.

At Indian Series 3 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, she cleared 1.90m for the first time.

Her next major breakthrough came at the Asian U20 Championships, where she soared over 1.93m to win gold and establish a new Indian senior national record.

She subsequently added bronze at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya with 1.84m.

Was the coach change the whole story?

The progression is striking. But it would be too convenient to attribute it simply to a change of coach.

Pooja was already an Asian champion before she arrived in Bengaluru. Balwan had built the technical and physical foundations that made her subsequent achievements possible. Her own maturity, rehabilitation, exposure to stronger competition and new training environment have all contributed to what followed.

That is how athlete development usually works. It is cumulative, not a story of one coach replacing another and suddenly discovering the missing ingredient.

Why top young athletes outgrow their first set-up

Nevertheless, the change reflects a reality that Indian sport has often been reluctant to confront.

As athletes reach higher levels, their requirements become increasingly specialised. The training methods and facilities that produce a junior champion may not be sufficient for someone attempting to compete against the world’s best.

A high jumper approaching 1.95m or 2.00m needs access to advanced technical coaching, appropriate strength and conditioning, injury-management expertise, quality facilities and regular competition against stronger international fields.

No single coach or institution necessarily possesses all those resources.

The difficulty lies in making the transition without disregarding the contribution of the people who developed the athlete in the first place.

Ideally, the move should be determined by sporting requirements, with clear responsibilities and continuity of support. In practice, such changes can also involve disagreements over control, loyalty and competing interests.

Why Pooja Singh joined VEL Sports, and what it means

Pooja’s subsequent move into VEL Sports adds another dimension.

Founded by Neeraj Chopra, the management company has a compelling proposition for an athlete whose profile is rising. Representation can bring commercial opportunities, professional contract negotiations, media exposure and assistance with the logistical demands of an international sporting career.

For Pooja, those services could become increasingly valuable as she moves from junior success towards the senior global circuit.

But the attraction runs both ways.

From VEL’s perspective, Pooja is a highly marketable prospect. She is a teenage national record holder, a senior Asian champion and an Asian Games medallist. Her performances have improved substantially over a relatively short period, and she has yet to reach what would ordinarily be considered her athletic prime.

A management company signing an athlete at this stage is not merely responding to existing success. It is making a judgment about future sporting performance and commercial potential.

Athlete management: Indian sport’s new business

That is becoming a more recognisable feature of India’s emerging sports business.

Agencies have traditionally gravitated towards established stars, particularly those whose Olympic or international achievements have already made them household names. Increasingly, however, there is an incentive to identify exceptional performers earlier, build their profiles and develop commercial partnerships before the wider market catches up.

For young athletes, that attention can be transformative. Sponsorship income, access to better training environments, assistance with travel and the ability to concentrate on sport can remove obstacles that previously limited their careers.

But representation also introduces another set of interests.

A coach is primarily concerned with sporting performance. A sponsor wants visibility and association with success. A management company wants to develop the athlete’s commercial value. An academy must manage its facilities and coaching resources.

These interests can reinforce one another. They do not always align automatically.

An athlete might need six weeks of uninterrupted training while a sponsor wants appearances. A coach might prefer a carefully selected competition schedule while a management agency sees value in international exposure. Commercial commitments can provide financial security but may also compete for time and attention.

There is no suggestion that such conflicts are occurring in Pooja’s case. The point is that they become more important as an athlete’s sporting and commercial profile develops.

Reports indicate that Biran is continuing with Pooja under the new arrangement. If so, the coaching continuity could prove valuable. She would be entering a different management structure without having to begin another technical transition.

It also means that VEL’s contribution will be judged less by whether it can find her a new coach and more by what it can provide around the existing coaching relationship.

After joining VEL Sports, the next target for Pooja Singh: 1.96m

The next challenge is already visible.

Pooja’s national record stands at 1.93m. The automatic qualification standard for the women’s high jump at the 2027 World Athletics Championships in Beijing is 1.96m.

Three centimetres separate the two marks.

At this level, three centimetres can represent months of technical refinement, physical conditioning and carefully managed competition. It is a small distance on a measuring tape but a substantial challenge in elite high jumping.

She also has the 2027 Asian Athletics Championships ahead of her, where she will return as the defending champion after winning the 2025 title with 1.89m.

Competing more frequently outside India could help her gain experience against stronger opposition and accumulate world-ranking points, offering another possible route into the World Championships if she does not achieve the automatic standard.

This is where a management company with the right network could make a difference. Identifying suitable international meetings, helping with travel arrangements and coordinating commercial support around the athlete’s competition schedule are practical services that can contribute to performance.

But none of them guarantees a higher clearance.

Pooja still has to jump the height herself.

The bigger question for Indian athletics

Her career also raises an uncomfortable question about the structure of Indian athletics.

Why does the progression of an exceptional athlete so often depend on assembling a sequence of separate support systems?

First comes the coach who identifies the talent. Then, perhaps, a sponsor or organisation capable of funding better facilities. A specialist coach follows. A better-equipped academy becomes available. Eventually, a management company enters to handle commercial interests and professional opportunities.

In Pooja’s case, those stages have produced impressive results. But they have also depended on individual relationships and timely interventions.

For every outstanding athlete who successfully navigates such changes, there may be others without the profile, connections or financial backing to make the same journey.

That is the wider issue.

Indian athletics needs not just talented coaches at the grassroots and sophisticated support systems at the elite level, but a more reliable pathway connecting the two.

Coaching transitions should not have to become personal ruptures. Access to advanced facilities should not depend entirely on attracting a sponsor. And professional representation should support sporting development rather than simply turn an athlete’s achievements into a commercial product.

What the VEL Sports move tells us about Pooja Singh

Pooja’s move to VEL is therefore interesting not because a famous athlete’s company has signed another rising star, but because it illustrates how the business of developing and representing Indian athletes is changing.

The original coach develops the talent. Specialist expertise helps it progress. Institutions provide resources. Management companies recognise its market potential and seek to build a business around it.

There is room for everyone in that arrangement, provided their interests remain aligned.

At 19, Pooja is still at the beginning of her senior international career. Her progress from 1.76m to 1.93m has been exceptional, and her ambition now extends towards the world’s biggest championships.

Whether her latest move proves successful will not be measured by the announcement of another sponsorship deal or the visibility generated by her association with Neeraj Chopra.

It will be measured by what happens on the high jump apron.

The 19-year-old from Rajasthan has taken an unconventional route to the top. She overcame limited resources and injuries to become India’s newest junior pole vault record-holder.

When Chuki Birda cleared 3.91 metres at the 41st National Junior Athletics Championships in Chennai, she achieved more than a gold medal. The 19-year-old from Rajasthan broke the women’s U20 national pole vault record. Her achievement marked another milestone in a journey that began with little knowledge of the event and limited resources.

Her clearance improved the previous national record of 3.90m. Vanshika Ghanghas had set that mark in 2025. Birda also surpassed the championship record of 3.80m.

Kerala’s Jeena Basil finished second with 3.80m. Madhya Pradesh’s Tanishka Dayma secured bronze with 3.50m.

From Kabaddi to Pole Vault: Chuki Birda’s Journey

Unlike many athletes who specialise early, Birda began her sporting journey with kabaddi. She later explored running and hurdles before discovering pole vault. The event demands exceptional technical skills and coordination.

Her early promise caught the attention of Ram Nivas Sahu. The government school teacher became an important figure in her development.

Sahu first noticed Birda’s running ability during a school disciplinary exercise. He recognised her speed and athleticism. He then encouraged her to pursue competitive sport.

Neither Birda nor her mentor had much experience with pole vault. They began studying techniques through YouTube videos. Gradually, they learned about sprinting, take-off mechanics, pole handling and aerial coordination.

For a young athlete without specialised facilities, acquiring suitable equipment also proved challenging.

Support Helped Birda Overcome Resource Challenges

Support eventually arrived through IAS officer Nidhi Chaudhari, a former classmate of Sahu. The Mumbai-based Parmarth Seva Samiti also contributed.

Their assistance helped provide pole vault equipment reportedly worth approximately ₹10 lakh.

This intervention proved crucial to Birda’s development. Pole vault requires specialised equipment and expert coaching. Access to both can make a significant difference in an athlete’s progress.

Chuki Birda’s Progression in Pole Vault

Birda’s performances have improved steadily over the past two seasons.

At the 2025 U20 Federation Championships, she cleared 3.50m to finish third. She finished behind national record-holder Vanshika Ghanghas.

In 2026, Birda continued competing at national-level meetings. She recorded 3.20m at the Indian Open Jumps Competition. She later cleared 3.40m at the U20 Federation Championships.

Her breakthrough arrived in Chennai. There, she raised her personal best to 3.91m and established a new national record.

Birda now trains in Haryana under Captain Ramdari Singh. She has also overcome several injuries during her development.

What Next for India’s New U20 Pole Vault Record-Holder?

India’s women’s pole vault has progressed in recent years. However, the gap to international standards remains considerable.

Birda’s record is an encouraging development. Her journey also highlights how talent can emerge from unlikely circumstances. Teachers, families and support organisations can help athletes access opportunities.

At 19, she is approaching the transition from junior to senior athletics. Technical consistency, improved strength and quality competition will become increasingly important.

Her immediate challenge is to build on the 3.91m clearance. One record-breaking performance should not define her career. Instead, consistent progress will determine how far she can go.

Birda’s achievement offers hope for Indian women’s pole vault. With continued support and the right training environment, she can aim for higher clearances and stronger performances on the international stage.

LA 2028 athletics schedule at a glance

• Olympic Games: 14 to 30 July 2028, Los Angeles
• Athletics: 15 to 30 July (track and field 15–24 July; road events 27, 29, 30 July)
• Stadium: LA Memorial Coliseum, an Olympic venue in 1932, 1984 and 2028
• Medal events: 48 (23 men’s, 23 women’s, 2 mixed)
• Athletes: 1,810, with equal numbers of men and women
• New: mixed 4x100m relay and half marathon race walk
• Men’s javelin final: Monday 24 July 2028 (early on 25 July in India)

Indian athletes still have to qualify for LA 2028. The names above are India’s current leaders in each event, based on our national records 2026 list.

These are planned session windows, not exact event times. LA28 will publish the detailed timetable closer to the Games.

India’s new championships at a glance

• Asian Relay Championships 2027: Chandigarh, Sector 7 Sports Complex, expected in May 2027 (third edition)
• Asian Indoor Championships 2028: Bhubaneswar, Kalinga Stadium indoor facility, early 2028
• World Athletics Indoor Championships 2028: Bhubaneswar, Kalinga Indoor Stadium, March 2028
• Decided by: Asian Athletics Association executive council, Hong Kong, 27 May 2026
• Bids: submitted by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) in 2025

See every Indian relay record in our national records 2026 list.

Commonwealth Games 2030 at a glance

• Host city: Ahmedabad (with venues in Gandhinagar), Gujarat, India
• Edition: XXIV Commonwealth Games, the centenary Games (1930–2030)
• When: October 2030; exact dates not yet announced
• Awarded: 26 November 2025, Glasgow, unanimously; rival bid Abuja, Nigeria
• Sports: 17, including athletics and para athletics
• Main stadium: Narendra Modi Stadium (132,000) for the ceremonies
• Athletics venue: Karai Police Academy Sports Hub, Gandhinagar (new)

We will update this page as soon as the organisers confirm the dates and the athletics schedule.

Organisers aim to cut hosting costs by 60% compared with earlier editions, using existing venues where possible.

Ancy Sojan at a glance

• Born: 1 March 2001, Nattika, Thrissur
• Age: 25
• State: Kerala
• Event: Long jump
• Personal best: 6.88m, national record (June 2026)
• Asian Games: silver in Hangzhou (2023) and Nagoya (2026)
• Job: Indian Navy
• Off the track: trains at the Reliance Foundation National Athletics Centre, Navi Mumbai

Haryana’s Minakshi produces a stunning 54.40m throw as four athletes surpass the previous national record in an extraordinary girls’ U16 javelin competition.

Haryana’s teenage javelin sensation Minakshi delivered one of the standout performances of the 41st National Junior Athletics Championships 2026, smashing the girls’ U16 national record with a massive throw of 54.40 metres, improving the previous mark by an astonishing 7.53 metres.

The previous national record of 46.87m was held by Haryana’s Muskan. Minakshi not only erased that mark but also produced a remarkable series in which all five of her valid throws travelled beyond 50 metres.

But this was not merely a story of one outstanding athlete. In an extraordinary display of emerging Indian javelin talent, the top four finishers all surpassed the previous national record.

Maharashtra’s Rahi Chavan claimed silver with a personal best of 52.02m, while Sahiba Bano took bronze with 51.13m. Somya Dhaka finished fourth with another personal best of 48.65m.

Five Throws Beyond 50 Metres

Minakshi’s winning throw came in the opening round, when she sent the javelin soaring to 54.40m.

She followed it with throws of 51.41m, 51.48m, 53.67m and 51.62m before recording a foul in her final attempt.

The consistency was almost as impressive as the record itself.

Even her fifth-best legal throw would have comfortably beaten the previous national record.

Her performance was especially significant because she had never crossed 50m in official competition before this championship.

From U14 Record-Holder to U16 Champion

Minakshi’s rise has been anything but sudden.

At the 38th National Junior Athletics Championships in Coimbatore in November 2023, she won the girls’ U14 Kids Javelin gold with a national record throw of 44.05m.

She continued her dominance at the 39th National Junior Championships in Bhubaneswar in December 2024, winning another U14 gold with 46.81m.

In October 2025, competing in the higher U16 age category, Minakshi secured gold at the 40th National Junior Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar with a throw of 44.97m, defeating Delhi’s Yogita Baisla, who finished second with 44.41m.

Her latest 54.40m performance marks a major breakthrough in her U16 career.

The progression also reflects the work of her grassroots training group in Bangaon village in Haryana’s Fatehabad district.

Minakshi is associated with the Bangaon Javelin Team, where coach Hanuman Singh has helped develop several promising female throwers.

The training programme, which began in 2012, has produced national-level medallists across multiple age categories despite limited infrastructure.

Rahi Chavan: Another Rising Javelin Talent

Silver medallist Rahi Chavan has also built an impressive junior record.

Representing Maharashtra, Rahi won the girls’ U14 Kids Javelin silver medal at the 39th National Junior Athletics Championships in 2024 with a throw of 38.54m, finishing behind Minakshi.

She subsequently moved into the U16 category, finishing fourth at the 2025 Junior Nationals with 42.22m.

More recently, Rahi won gold at the 37th West Zone Junior Athletics Championships, held in Bambolim, Goa, from September 27 to 29, 2026.

Her winning distance of 45.02m was recorded as a meet record.

She has also enjoyed success in school athletics, winning a CBSE National Athletics Championship title in the U17 girls’ javelin event.

Rahi trains at Shree Elite Sports Academy in Pune, Maharashtra, under coaches Lakhwinder Singh and Akshay Singh.

Her leap to 52.02m at the 2026 Junior Nationals represents a significant improvement over her previous competitive bests.

A Remarkable New Generation

What made the girls’ U16 final particularly encouraging was the depth of performance.

For four athletes to surpass the existing national record in the same competition is an exceptional result.

Minakshi and Rahi, both born in 2011, have already competed against each other at successive national junior championships, progressing from the U14 Kids Javelin category to U16 competition.

Their continued improvement offers encouragement for Indian women’s javelin, particularly at the grassroots level.

However, junior success is only the beginning. As these athletes move into older age groups, maintaining technical development, managing training loads and preventing injuries will become increasingly important.

For now, Minakshi’s 54.40m national record and the remarkable performances behind her mark an exciting moment for India’s next generation of female javelin throwers.

* DD News reported the mixed relay’s 41.06 in Nagoya as a national record; it improves on the 41.35 from the World Relays. We list all records on this page as reported at the time. However, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) ratifies national records separately.

Yashvir Singh at a glance

• Born: 22 October 2001, Devsar village, Bhiwani (Haryana)
• Age: 24
• State: Born in Haryana, competes for Rajasthan
• Event: Javelin throw
• Personal best: 85.72m (Asian Games, September 2026)
• 2026 medals: Asian Games silver and Commonwealth Games bronze
• Coach: his father, Rai Singh, a former national-level javelin thrower
• Off the track: trained at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur, and started on a bamboo javelin