"Asian Games will be a good opportunity for me to showcase that Indian pole vaulters have potential" -  Pavithra Venkatesh

Tamil Nadu’s 22-year-old Asian Indoor silver medalist in women’s pole vault, Pavithra Venkatesh, is hopeful of further raising the bar at the Hangzhou Asian Games. The track and field competition will commence from September 29 in Hangzhou.

Pavithra is the first female Indian pole vaulter to have qualified for the Asian Games after a long gap of nearly 17 years. VS Surekha had last competed at the 2006 Doha Asian Games.

“Asian Games will be a good opportunity for me to showcase that Indian pole vaulters have potential,” Pavithra told Sportskeeda over the phone from her training base in Salem.

Earlier in February this year, Pavithra won silver at the Asian Indoor Championships in Kazakhstan. She cleared 4m, and a silver medal on debut at the international level has added to her confidence.

Pavithra has a personal best of 4.10m, while she has cleared the bar at 4.20m several times during practice sessions, claims her coach K Elamparithi.

“If she (Pavithra) is able to clear 4.20m or more in Hangzhou, it will brighten her chances of winning a medal,” Elamparithi added.

Pavithra too exuded confidence that she will give her best.

“I have a challenging task at hand. Will give all I have during the competition to highlight that pole vault could also fetch a medal at the Asian Games,” Pavithra said.

Despite inadequate facilities, the coach has designed local equipment for drills to polish Pavithra’s vaulting skills.

Despite qualifying for the Asian Games, there has been no support from the Tamil Nadu government, the coach claimed.

“It is always good to have proper facilities to prepare for a major competition like the Asian Games. However, it is not the right time to criticize but stay focused to achieve good results at the Asian Games,” the athletics coach said.

Pavithra took up sports during her school days. Initially, she competed in sprints, including 400m. She even won medals in the age group categories at the national level. However, after the age of 16, she switched to pole vault.

Daughter of a daily wage earner from Salem in Tamil Nadu, Pavithra faced a challenging task during her formative years, but she never gave up. With support from her coach (K Elamparithi), she gradually climbed the ladder.

In August 2022, on the basis of her performance at the national level, she got a job via sports quota in the Southern Railways.

“A regular job was a big financial support to me and my family,” said Pavithra, who is the youngest of three siblings.

Pavithra's elder sister and brother are married, while her mother is a homemaker.

“Things have been difficult in the past. But it’s better now,” she added.

The biggest achievement for Pavithra's coach was earlier this year in February when she was selected for the Asian Indoor Championship where she won a silver.

Pavithra’s coach is hopeful of getting the necessary travel documents soon so that he can be with his ward in China.

“Will apply for a visa to travel to China. The women’s pole vault event is scheduled for October 2. Hopefully by then, I will have the necessary travel documents to travel to China,” the coach added.