For record-breaking Chuki, this is just the start of big things

It all started with an ‘enough is enough, full stop’. Then came a punishment at school, and now, a national record.

For 19-year-old Chuki Birda of Rajasthan, a couple of deep breaths, a glance at the board displaying the national record mark and one final look at the crossbar preceded her sprint down the runway.

Seconds later, she cleared the bar and landed in the pit, setting a new national record with 3.91m in the pole vault at the 41st National Junior Athletics Championships at the Nehru Stadium here on Saturday.

A handful of vociferous supporters from her village, along with well-wishers from Chennai, screamed in delight from the stands.

The name ‘Chuki’, according to her mentor Ram Nivas Sahu, means ‘full stop’ in the local dialect. She is one of eight daughters. Her parents gave her the name in the belief that the next child would be a boy. But the next two were girls too.

It was a punishment at school that first brought her sporting ability to notice.

“She was asked to run, touch a wall and return to the classroom. Chuki came first, and that was when I noticed her speed,” recalled Ram Nivas, her mentor and a government school teacher.

Chuki initially played kabaddi before moving to running and hurdles, and eventually took up pole vault.

“We didn’t know anything about pole vault. We watched videos on YouTube and started learning the basics,” said Ram Nivas.

Help arrived through his former classmate Nidhi Chaudhari, an IAS officer, and the Mumbai-based Parmarth Seva Samiti, which, according to him, provided equipment worth ₹10 lakh.

Chuki now trains in Haryana under Captain Ramdari Singh.

“Our coach spends the whole day with us. He takes care of everything, including injuries,” said Chuki. “I suffered injuries two or three times. It has taken me a long time to reach 3.91m,” added the 19-year-old.

Coming from a farming family, Chuki credits her parents for standing by her. “My father supports me, but my mother supports me even more,” she said, adding that she hopes to do well at the senior level next year.

“She will win an international medal for India,” said Ram Nivas.

For a journey that began with a ‘full stop’, Chuki’s story, it seems, is only just beginning.