CHENNAI: As Haryana javelin thrower Poonam recorded her third best throw of her career at the National Junior Athletics Championships on Monday, relief was written all over her face. After a stuttered start, the teenager was able to breach the 50-metre mark. "In the first two throws, I landed on the toe-board, so those were fouls. In the third throw, I wanted to play it safe and move into the top eight,” she told reporters after her performance. "My lower back was a bit tight, and because of that, my right side was pulling during the throws," she said, explaining her slight discomfort during the women's U20 final.
Before the third attempt, Poonam was called on to the sidelines by her coach Hanuman Singh for a pep talk. Then, she got her act right as she marked a 51.48m throw in the fifth attempt. “My coach told me to keep my mind calm and focus on throwing safely inside the sector rather than trying to throw as late as possible to get more distance, since my previous throws were fouls. He advised me to keep it simple, enter the top eight and build from there,” she said.
The teenager from Bangaon in Fatehabad district has shown encouragement but also needs to improve. While she has shone in the domestic events, her track record in international meets has not been up to the mark. She threw as far as 46.55m in the Asian U20 Athletics meet and 48.81m in the Eugene World U20 Athletics Championships earlier this year.
“In the off-season, I have been working on my technique, which was crucial. If my technique is clean, the throws will naturally be good. My running is quite strong. I want to focus more on my hip movement and keep my right side tight during the release,” she explained.
Hanuman Singh, Poonam's coach, known for building an ecosystem for javelin throwers in the district, felt that Poonam has a long way to go with her technique. “Her technique is practically zero right now. It takes time because her training period has been very short. She has only been practicing for about three to three-and-a-half years. She started when she was in the 10th grade, but initially, the focus was entirely on general fitness. She also suffered from injuries. With only three years for javelin training, her technical foundation is still developing. She is currently relying mostly on raw power,” the coach told reporters.
Her beginning can be traced back to the time when Poonam was identified by the coach at the Aarohi Model Senior Secondary School – a central government-funded school – in Bangaon. The coach worked as a physical education trainer there. “He spotted me throwing on the school grounds. I didn't even know what javelin was at the time, but he encouraged me to start, and that’s how my journey began,” she recalled.
But her journey has not been the easiest. A year into her junior career, she lost her father, who worked as a small-time contractor. “He passed away just days after I participated in the 2024 National Junior Athletics Championships. There, I won silver in the U18 final (with a personal best throw of 50.73m then). Even in the period following his death, my mother encouraged me to continue training. Coach Hanuman also supported me,” she said.
While thrower Jyoti may have put Bangaon on the map with her 58.49m throw in an domestic event in 2024, Poonam has all the ingredients to go a step further than her senior. Whether she can fulfill her potential is a question of time as she sets her eyes on the senior events from next year.