Nagoya, September 2026 : India’s national record-holder Pooja clinched the bronze medal in the women’s high jump at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, on Tuesday, adding to the country’s athletics medal tally alongside Sarvesh Kushare and Parul Chaudhary.
Pooja cleared 1.84m in the final to finish third. Uzbekistan’s Sayfullaeva claimed the gold medal with a personal-best effort of 1.90m, while Kazakhstan’s Kristina Ovchinnikova won silver after clearing 1.87m.
The 19-year-old Indian had briefly moved into the lead after successfully clearing 1.84m. However, she could not negotiate the 1.87m mark in three attempts and eventually had to settle for bronze.
The medal capped a remarkable year for Pooja, who had earlier rewritten the national record at the Asian Under-20 Athletics Championships. She cleared 1.93m at the event to surpass Sahana Kumari’s 14-year-old national mark.
Pooja’s podium finish also ended a long wait for India in the women’s high jump at the Asian Games. She became the first Indian woman to win a medal in the event since Bobby Aloysius secured silver at the 2002 edition.
India’s athletics campaign had already received a boost earlier when Sarvesh Kushare won the silver medal in the men’s high jump on Monday.
Kushare produced a best effort of 2.25m to finish second, matching the height cleared by gold medallist Chao Hsuan-Fu of Chinese Taipei. Chao, however, cleared 2.25m on his first attempt, while Kushare required two attempts at the height, giving the Chinese Taipei athlete the advantage under the countback rule.
Republic of Korea’s Sanghyeok Woo won the bronze medal with a best clearance of 2.22m.
Kushare began his competition strongly, clearing 2.10m on his first attempt before successfully negotiating 2.14m, 2.18m and 2.22m at the first time of asking. His consistent performance kept him among the leading contenders for much of the competition.
Chao, who needed two attempts to clear 2.18m, responded strongly by producing his season-best effort of 2.25m in his first attempt to move ahead of Kushare.
Both athletes then attempted 2.28m in a bid to take the gold medal outright. However, neither could clear the height in three attempts.
With both athletes finishing with a best of 2.25m, Chao’s successful first-attempt clearance at that height proved decisive, earning him the gold medal, while Kushare took silver.
Pooja’s bronze, along with Kushare’s silver and Parul Chaudhary’s bronze, further strengthened India’s athletics medal haul at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
