Madhya Pradesh’s rising pole vaulter, Dev Kumar Meena, is all set for the Indian Indoor Open Combined Events and Pole Vault Competition in Bhubaneswar. The competition, starting this Saturday at Bhubaneswar’s Indoor Stadium, will see fourteen pole vaulters, including prominent competitors like Kuldeep Kumar and Reegan G, in the men’s event. Dev Kumar Meena, aiming for his personal best, expressed his determination for the upcoming competition.
With an impressive season performance, Dev Kumar Meena equaled his national record of 5.40m in Taiwan earlier this year. Having arrived in Bhubaneswar to pursue his goals, he shared his readiness and excitement for the event. Last year, he set the national record at 5.40m and is now eyeing success at the Indoor competition, along with aspirations for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and Japan Asian Games.
The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has set the men’s pole vault qualification criteria at 5.25m for the CWG and 5.45m for the Japan Asian Games. For women, the qualification marks are 4.45m and 4.10m, respectively. The competition will witness the participation of seven athletes in the men’s U20 pole vault event and eleven athletes in the women’s pole vault final.
The event, organized under the AFI in collaboration with the Government of Odisha and Odisha Athletics Association, will host more than 80 athletes. The competition will feature heptathlon and pentathlon events for both senior and U20 groups, including disciplines like 60m, long jump, shot put, high jump, hurdles, pole vault, and 1000m for heptathlon, and hurdles, high jump, shot put, long jump, and 800m for pentathlon.
