Anurag Thakur Hails Pooja's Asian Games High Jump Bronze
Synopsis
BJP MP Anurag Thakur has congratulated athlete Pooja for winning India's Women's High Jump bronze at the 2026 Asian Games — the country's first medal in the event since Busan 2002, ending a 24-year drought in Indian field athletics.
Key Takeaways
Athlete Pooja won the Women's High Jump bronze at the 2026 Asian Games .
This is India's first medal in this event since the 2002 Asian Games in Busan — a gap of 24 years .
BJP MP Anurag Thakur , former Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, publicly congratulated Pooja on September 29, 2026 .
The Khelo India programme, launched in 2017 , has targeted track and field infrastructure as part of India's long-term sports development push.
India's women's field events have historically been among the country's weakest disciplines at the Asian Games.
Twenty-four years is a long time to wait. India's women's high jump finally ended that drought at the 2026 Asian Games, with Pooja claiming the bronze medal — the country's first in the event since Busan 2002. BJP MP Anurag Thakur, former Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, was among the first to salute the achievement on Tuesday, September 29, 2026.
A 24-Year Wait, Finally Over
India's last women's high jump medal at the Asian Games had come at Busan in 2002 — a gap stretching across six editions of the continent's premier multi-sport event. That makes Pooja's bronze at the 2026 Asian Games more than a single result; it is the closing of a chapter that an entire generation of Indian field athletes could not finish. Thakur called it 'a historic first medal for India in this event since 2002,' and the arithmetic backs him up.
Khelo India's Long Game in Track and Field
The backdrop to moments like this one is years of incremental investment. Since 2017, the Khelo India programme has channelled government support toward training infrastructure for track and field athletes — building state-level centres, funding coaches, and identifying talent at the grassroots. Field events, historically India's weakest discipline at the Asian Games, have been a particular focus. A bronze in women's high jump in 2026 is precisely the kind of result that programme architects pointed to as the eventual payoff.
Thakur, who held the Sports Ministry portfolio before returning to Parliament, posted his congratulations with the hashtags #AsianGames2026 and #Cheer4Bharat, underscoring the cross-party civic pride the moment commands. The sign-off — 'Jai Hind!' — kept the register warmly national rather than political.
India's Field Athletics Slowly Finding Its Footing
Indian athletics has long been a story of running medals — middle distance, sprints — punctuated by rare field-event highlights. Women's high jump sits in that rarer category still: technically demanding, dependent on elite coaching and long runway timelines, and historically dominated by Central Asian and Chinese athletes on the continental circuit. Breaking into the medals in that company, after a generation-long absence, signals a structural shift — however modest — in Indian field athletics.
With the 2026 Asian Games still unfolding, all eyes now turn to India's overall medal tally and whether this bronze is a one-off peak or the start of a new baseline in women's field events.
Point of View
Which has struggled for continental relevance across six Asian Games cycles since 2002. The milestone lands at a politically convenient moment for the BJP, whose Khelo India infrastructure push is now old enough to claim first-generation results — making Thakur's congratulatory post both sincere and strategically timed. For sports administrators, the real test is whether this is a one-athlete peak or the leading edge of deeper talent depth in women's high jump. If subsequent editions produce comparable results, the policy case for sustained field-event investment becomes significantly easier to prosecute.
NationPress
29 Sept 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Pooja and what did she win at the 2026 Asian Games?
Pooja won the Women's High Jump bronze medal at the 2026 Asian Games, making her the first Indian athlete to medal in this event since the Busan Asian Games in 2002.
When did India last win a medal in Women's High Jump at the Asian Games?
India's previous Women's High Jump medal at the Asian Games came at the 2002 edition held in Busan, South Korea — a gap of 24 years before Pooja's bronze in 2026.
Why did Anurag Thakur comment on Pooja's Asian Games medal?
Anurag Thakur is a BJP MP and former Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, making Indian athletic achievements a natural subject for his public congratulations.
What is the Khelo India programme and how does it relate to this medal?
Khelo India, launched in 2017, is a government scheme to strengthen sports infrastructure and talent development across India, including track and field events where India has historically underperformed at the Asian Games.
Where are the 2026 Asian Games being held?
The specific host city of the 2026 Asian Games is not confirmed in available information; however, the Games are confirmed as the event at which Pooja won her bronze medal in Women's High Jump.
