Now Reading: Sangli daily-wage earner trains village students as pole vaulters
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Sangli daily-wage earner trains village students as pole vaulters
Anis Shikalgar (33), once a daily-wage labourer in Sangli district, now coaches 12 students in pole vault, free of cost. He realised at 27 that he had started too late to represent…
The Story in Brief
Anis Shikalgar (33), once a daily-wage labourer in Sangli district, now coaches 12 students in pole vault, free of cost. He realised at 27 that he had started too late to represent India, but instead of quitting, he began training village children to keep them away from addictions. Student Atharv Mirajkar finished fourth at the National School Athletics Championship in 2025 and now aims for the Asian Championships.
With equipment out of reach, landing mats cost Rs 2-4.5 lakh and poles up to Rs 1 lakh, Anis made his own safety mats from discarded bike seats, foam and soil. He earns Rs 2,000 a week at his cousin's factory and supplements his income by training one well-off child. His ultimate goal is to take his students to the five-metre qualification standard.
The Indian Opinion
The tale of Anis Shikalgar is heartwarming but also exposes a gap. Rural Maharashtra lacks quality athletics infrastructure, and one man's scrap mats cannot replace proper facilities. The narrative that individual grit alone can overcome systemic neglect lets the state off the hook. The test will be whether the Maharashtra sports department or the athletics federation steps in with a landing mat and a pole, or leaves it to YouTube donations.
Source: thehindu.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
