Dev Kumar Meena, Kuldeep Kumar Rewrite National Record in Men’s Pole Vault

Ranchi- Madhya Pradesh athletes Dev Kumar Meena and Kuldeep Kumar created history by clearing 5.45m in the men’s pole vault to set a new national record at the 29th National Senior Athletics Federation Competition in Ranchi.

The duo surpassed the previous national record of 5.41m, which had recently been set by Kuldeep Kumar in Bhubaneswar. Dev Kumar Meena clinched the gold medal on countback, while Kuldeep Kumar settled for silver despite achieving the same height.

Both athletes also comfortably crossed the Commonwealth Games qualification mark of 5.25m. Dev Kumar Meena’s jump additionally bettered the earlier meet record of 5.35m that he himself had set last year.

Training partners and close friends, the two vaulters said they now aim to deliver similar performances on the international stage. “It was a great day for both of us. We motivate each other to keep improving and raise the bar further in future competitions,” Dev Kumar Meena said after winning gold.

While sprint events had dominated attention on Saturday, Sunday belonged to the field athletes.

In the men’s long jump, Murali Sreeshankar secured gold with an impressive leap of 8.08m, crossing the Commonwealth Games qualification standard of 8.05m.

Maharashtra’s Sarvesh Anil Kushare starred in the men’s high jump by clearing 2.28m to win gold and surpass the CWG qualification mark of 2.22m. He also equalled the meet record set by Tejaswin Shankar. Kushare attempted 2.30m to break the national record of 2.29m but failed in all three tries.

Tamil Nadu’s Aadarsh Ram, who won silver, also achieved the Commonwealth Games qualifying mark with a jump of 2.22m.

In the men’s 110m hurdles, Tejas Ashok Shirse representing Reliance won gold with a timing of 13.50 seconds. He improved his own meet record of 13.61 seconds but narrowly missed the CWG qualification standard of 13.39 seconds.

Earlier in the women’s 10,000m race walk, Haryana athlete Ravina claimed gold with a timing of 44:29.66, bettering the CWG qualification mark of 44:44.58.

Other notable performances included Dharamraj Yadav winning the men’s discus throw with 55.20m and Nandhini K taking gold in the women’s 100m hurdles with a timing of 13.24 seconds.

With inputs from IANS