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The 60th National Open Athletic Championships at Warangal provide a promising stage for several young aspirants from all around India. Pavithra Venkatesh grabbed her chance with both hands to clinch victory over her fancied Railways opponents in the pole vault finals.
Several of the top stars pulled out of the event, perhaps due to the strains of the recently concluded Olympic cycle. But the Championships provide a golden opportunity for those knocking on the heels of the reputed stars to make a name for themselves on the national stage.
The intensely contested pole vault event produced plenty of drama, to say the least. The diminutive Pavithra Venkatesh from Tamil Nadu out-leapt her taller rivals from the Railways - Mariya Jaison and Krishna Rachan - with a comfortable clearance of the crossbar at 3.90m.
Standing 1.57m tall, Pavithra is a pocket powerhouse who relies on her technique to overcome her deficit in height. She might be short in stature, but the determined 19-year-old from the southern state has plenty of belief as she chases her dream of a ticket to the Paris Olympics 2024.
The little lady is a crafty athlete. She is steady with her run; the pole barely moves as she holds it firm with her right hand, guiding its flight from the top end. She makes smart use of her short stature to climb into her jump, carefully managing the plant to produce just the angle needed to bend the pole. She then transitions smoothly into the pull, turn and push to get over the bar.
Despite her jittery start, Pavithra showed plenty of resilience. She produced a clearance on her first attempt at 3.80, before going past the bar at 3.90m on her second attempt.
That was enough to clinch gold ahead of Mariya and Krishna, who could only manage 3.80 and 3.70 respectively. Rosy Meena Paulraj also cleared 3.70m, but lost out on the medal on a countback.
Pavithra is from the Salem district of Tamil Nadu, one of three children. Her father and brother work in the fabrication business, and COVID-19 has made life hard for the family. The elder sister is married, perhaps making it easier for them to nurture the dreams of the little girl in the family who dreams of soaring high.
Pavithra was a 400m at school, but her coach of nine years, Elamparidhi, encouraged her to take to pole vault later.
"He is my inspiration," says Pavithra. "My coach has worked hard to help me turn into a good pole vaulter despite my short height. We try and make up for it by training regularly to develop a good technique."
"It is hard for my family to support my dream, but I hope to repay their debt by qualifying for the Olympics," adds Pavithra, whose family has sometimes pawned gold to help her achieve her dreams. "I need to clear 4.70 to make the team. And I am confident that I can progress to the height gradually over the next couple of years."
Despite Pavitrha's apparent disadvantage in height, it is hard not to cheer her along as she sets out to conquer a tall peak ahead of the next Olympics in Paris.
The Magic of Middle Distance
Abhishek Pal took full advantage of the absence of Amit Jangir, the Federation Cup winner, to earn his first gold medal in a national competition. Pal emerged victorious despite a tough chase by his Services rivals.
The Railways athlete won the 5000m race in great style, managing his pace brilliantly throughout an intriguing race of attrition. He stayed with the leaders for much of the race before breaking away with a powerful surge just 300m from the tape.
The late burst put paid to the hopes of Dharmender, who led most of the race, as well as those of Ajay Kumar. The latter pipped Inter-State Championships winner Kartik Kumar by producing a stellar finish to his race.
The women's 5000m followed a similar path. Eventual winner Parul Chaudhary sat quietly behind Komal Chandrakant Jagdale for a while before sliding past her tiring opponent with barely 250m left in the race.
Even though Komal managed to produce her personal best, it just wasn't enough to check her cruising opponent. Sanjivani Babar Jadhav took the bronze with a convincing effort, even though she found it hard to race her opponents toward the end of the race.
There was some joy too for Andhra Pradesh's Dandi Jyothika Sri, who was cheered on by local fans. She qualified for the 400m final in 54.83 seconds.
A little later, another Andhra runner, K Naresh Kumar emerged as the second fastest qualifier in the 100m sprint. VK Elakkiadasan claimed the top spot at 10.52s, just a fraction quicker than Naresh Kumar.
Telangana supporters in the stands leapt with joy as they witnessed local girl Nithya Gandhe qualify for the 100m finals in 11.90s.
The results (finals):
Men
5000m: 1. Abhishek Pal (Railways) 14:16.35; 2. Dharmender (Services) 14:17.20; 3. Ajay Kumar (Services) 14:20.98.
Women
5000m: 1. Parul Chaudhary (Railways) 15:59.69; 2. Komal Chandrakant Jagdale (Maharashtra) 16:01.43; 3. Sanjivani Babar Jadhav (Maharashtra) 16:19.18.
Pole Vault: 1. Pavithra Venkatesh (Tamil Nadu) 3.90m; 2. Mariya Jaison (Railways) 3.80; 3. Krishna Rachan (Railways) 3.60.
