Sangli-based daily-wage earner training students to become pole vaulters in rural Maharashtra
Anis Shikalgar, a former daily-wage laborer from rural Maharashtra, has transitioned into a volunteer pole vault coach for underprivileged students. Despite his own missed opportunities to compete professionally, he now provides free training to help local youth excel in the sport.
Why it matters
This story highlights grassroots sports development and the impact of individual mentorship on social mobility in rural communities.
At 7 a.m., Anis Shikalgar (33) leaves his house to live out the changes he has made in his life. Speaking over video call from his home in Ankalkhop village in Sangli district, waving his hand, he said: “Five years ago, at 7 a.m., I used to reach the mazoor adda [a daily-wage labour market]; now I go out to give fitness training.”
Once a wage earner, Anis has become a pole vault trainer and fitness coach for students in Ankalkhop and nearby villages in Sangli district, Maharashtra . Pole vault, part of the Olympic programme since 1896, is an athletics event in which an athlete uses a long pole to launch themselves over a horizontal bar set at height.
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