National record-breaking pole vaulter G Sindhushree lacked funds to buy proper equipment after her father’s death in 2022, forcing her to compete with a short pole until she borrowed a long pole just two weeks ahead of the National Inter-State Championships here.

Using her friend’s gear, Karnataka’s unheralded Sindhushree set an unexpected national record, won the gold medal and also secured an Asian Games ticket. The 25-year-old, who hails from a family of modest means in Bhadravati in Shimoga district, cleared a distance of 4.25 metres, breaking Tamil Nadu athlete Baranika Elangovan’s previous national record of 4.20 metres, a month old.

“My father died of a heart attack in 2022. Whatever I have achieved today is all because of my father. Every morning, he would take me for a run and he wanted me to play for the country in international events. I am going to fulfill his dream with the Asian Games (participation),” Sindhushree said, holding her father’s photo.

“I qualified for the World University Games, but my father was not there to see me. I am the first person in my family to play sports, other members also wanted to send a girl to sports. My father fought all of them and so I joined SAI Hostel in Bengaluru in 2016. I started my sports journey at that time.”

His father R Ganesh was an electrician and his mother worked as a tailor.

“Since my mother is taking care of my younger sister’s studies, my grandfather is supporting me financially,” said an emotional Sindhushree, who dedicated her Asian Games gold medal and coveted ticket to her father.

“I have no sponsor, no job and it is difficult to manage. I was looking for a job but I couldn’t find it because my performances were not good. I am hoping to get a job after this performance. I need to help my family,” said the 159 cm (5 feet 2.5 inches) tall pole vaulter.

Sindhushree improved her personal best by 25 cm. His previous personal best was 4 meters during the Indian Athletics Series 6 in Chennai in May. He has won only one medal at major domestic championships so far – a silver here at the 2023 National Inter-State Championships with a performance of 3.80m.

Due to financial struggles she could not even buy herself a proper pole for the competition. Before coming here she was using a small pole.

“I didn’t have proper poles before. All the poles were short and after competitions they became loose. I trained with short poles and learned technique, which is why I couldn’t perform well in previous competitions like the Federation Cup.

“Luckily, I came here with a long pole that was actually brought by a friend of mine. I got it a few days ago and I was able to perform better here.”

Initially, Sindhushree was a 400m runner, but a local coach shifted her to pole vault in 2017. My coach said I could do better in pole vault.

Asked about qualifying for the Asian Games, she said, “It feels like a dream, it all happened because of my father (above).”

Sindhushree’s coach Vijeesh MM said that her most important quality is her patience.

“Her patience is her strength, as for many years the performances were not coming, she was not able to compete with proper sticks and she had financial difficulties.

“With the right poles and the right nutritional support, she will do better in the Asian Games. She doesn’t need to focus on her technique. I hope she can go above 4.30m.”

The bronze medal mark at the 2022 Asian Games was 4.30 metres.

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