Madhya Pradesh athletes Dev Kumar Meena and Kuldeep Kumar achieved a national record by clearing 5.45m in the men’s pole vault event at the 29th National Senior Athletics Federation Competition in Ranchi. Meena clinched the gold medal, surpassing Kumar who settled for silver due to a tiebreaker. Both athletes met the Commonwealth Games qualification mark of 5.25m.
The duo, who are training partners and friends, aim to replicate their success at the international level following their outstanding performance. Meena expressed joy over their achievements and pledged to continue pushing each other for further progress. The competition’s focus shifted from sprinters to field events on the second day.
In other events, Murali Sreeshankar secured the gold in the long jump with an 8.08m leap, exceeding the CWG qualification mark. Sarvesh Anil Kushare dominated the men’s high jump with a winning height of 2.28m, surpassing the CWG standard. Kushare equaled the meet record but fell short in his attempt to break the national record.
Tejas Ashok Shirse of Reliance emerged victorious in the men’s 110m hurdles, clocking 13.50 seconds, improving his own meet record but missing out on a CWG berth. The morning session saw Ravina from Haryana claim gold in the women’s 10,000m race walk, surpassing the CWG qualification time.
