All eyes on Pavithra Venkatesh as she competes in pole vault at the Asian Indoor Championships

The performance of Tamil Nadu’s Khelo India University Games women’s pole vault champion Pavithra Venkatesh at the Asian Indoor Athletics Championship in Astana, Kazakhstan, will be crucial to the popularity of pole vault in India, believes her personal coach K Elamparithi.

“Pole vault isn’t a priority event for the Athletics Federation of India (AFI). It’s the first time in so many years pole vaulters have been among the Indian contingent selected for the Asian Indoor,” athletics coach Elamparithi told Sportskeeda over the phone from Salem.

Shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor is amongst the 26-member squad selected by AFI for the February 10-12 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships. Two male and two female athletes in the pole vault discipline have also been selected for the Asian meet that got underway on Friday in Astana. The women's pole vault is scheduled for Saturday.

Pavithra’s personal best is 4.20m, while she has cleared a height of 4.10m in the competition in the 2022 season. In the 2022 edition of the Khelo India University Games held in Bengaluru, Pavithra etched her name in the record books by clearing 4.01m in the women’s pole vault event.

Daughter of a daily wage earner, Pavithra never got financial support in her formative years of athletics. Two years ago, she won a medal at the Khelo India Youth Games and was entitled to a monthly scholarship of Rs 10,000.

“I must say the scholarship was a big support to Pavithra and her family,” the athletics coach said. “In December 2022, Pavithra also got a job in Southern Railways on the basis of her sports performance.”

In the face of adversity, reaching new heights in a sport like pole vault requires a lot of perseverance as good quality poles are imported.

“It took seven long years for Pavithra to cross the 4m barrier in pole vault,” Elamparithi said. “She couldn’t afford good food and there are bare minimum facilities for pole vault in India.”

But there are crazy people like Elamparithi, an athletics coach from Salem, working at the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu, who has invested heavily in pole vault.

Elamparithi set up an athletics academy in the Salem area a decade ago. It has a three-pole vault jumping area and as many as 40 poles for practice and competition. All the poles have been imported as good quality equipment isn’t available in India. Currently, there are more than 40 athletes, including 15 girls.

“I must have spent Rs 50 lakhs to import equipment to support pole vault in the region,” the coach said. “I could invest in athletics as my family is very supportive.”

Pavithra's initial journey started with sprint events. She later shifted to heptathlon. In 2017, the Tamil Nadu athlete switched to pole vault, said her coach.

“We hope Pavithra will be able to make an impression in her first International indoor meeting,” the coach added.