India, May 31 -- A few days after arriving in Gumi, South Korea, for the Asian Championships, Pooja Singh faced an unexpected challenge. During a training session, one of her shoes tore. The backup pair wasn't giving her the good grip she needed on the track.

After discussing the issue with her coach Balwan Singh, Pooja decided to tape the torn spikes and go ahead with her jumps on Friday. For someone who grew up in a family struggling to make ends meet, learned high jump clearing bamboo bars, and landed on mats made of paddy straw (parali), this wasn't the toughest obstacle she had faced.

It was just another challenge for her to overcome in her tough journey. On Friday, when she ran towards the High Jump bar at the Gumi Civic Stadium i...