RANCHI: Following a historic day that saw three national records fall on Saturday, the pole-vaulting duo of Dev Meena and Kuldeep Kumar stole the show on Sunday, becoming joint holders of the national record. In a rare feat, both athletes cleared 5.45m on the third day of the National Senior Athletics Federation Competition at Birsa Munda Stadium, Morabadi.
Record-Breaking Performance
Kuldeep Kumar entered the competition holding the national record of 5.41m, set earlier this month. However, Dev Meena bettered it by clearing 5.42m. The record lasted only a few minutes as Kuldeep then cleared 5.45m. But that was not enough to secure the title, as his good friend and training partner Dev equalled the mark soon after and finished on top of the podium on countback.
Attempts at 5.50m
Both athletes, who train under coach Ghanshyam Yadav at Bhopal's DSYW Academy, attempted 5.50m but fell short. Dev expressed slight disappointment, believing they could have gone higher, but admitted he was not entirely comfortable with the conditions. "We had come here on the 20th and started training, but the surface felt a bit different, slightly sticky. So, we were cautious about injuries. Even then, things went well," said Meena.
CWG Qualification and Meet Record
The gold and silver medallists both achieved the Commonwealth Games qualifying mark of 5.25m and also bettered the meet record of 5.35m, set last year by Meena.
Other Highlights
In the men's long jump, Murali Sreeshankar won gold with a leap of 8.08m, breaching the CWG qualifying mark of 8.05m. His fifth jump of 8.21m is under scrutiny. Lokesh Sathyanathan finished second with 7.94m, while Mohd Atta Sazid was third with 7.90m.
In the men's high jump, Maharashtra's Sarvesh Anil Kushare won gold with a clearance of 2.28m, bettering the CWG mark of 2.22m. He also equalled the meet record set by Tejaswin Shankar and attempted to improve the national record of 2.29m but missed all three attempts at 2.30m. Aadarsh Ram secured silver and also achieved the CWG qualification mark with a jump of 2.22m.
The men's 110m hurdles title was won by Tejas Ashok Shirse in 13.50s, but he missed out on a CWG berth, for which the qualifying time was 13.39s. Earlier in the morning session, Ravina of Haryana won gold in the women's 10,000m race walk with a time of 44:29.66 to qualify for the CWG, while Priyanka Goswami finished fourth.
Complete Results
Men
- 1500m: Rahul Baloda (Rajasthan) 3:40.06s, Sakir (Haryana) 3:40.83s, Ajay Kumar Saroj (UP) 3:40.92s
- 110m hurdles: Tejas Ashok Shirse (Reliance) 13.50s (MR), Krishik M (Reliance) 13.52s, Muhammed Lazan (Navy) 13.83s
- Pole vault: Dev Kumar Meena (MP) 5.45m (NR), Kuldeep Kumar (MP) 5.45m (NR), Reegan G (TN) 5.15m
- High jump: Sarvesh Anil Kushare (Maharashtra) 2.28m (MR equalled), Aadarsh Ram (TN) 2.22m, Sudeep (Karnataka) 2.12m
- Long jump: M Sreeshankar (NCOE Trivandrum) 8.08m, S Lokesh (Reliance) 7.94m, Mohd Atta Sazid (Haryana) 7.90m
- Discus throw: Dharamraj Yadav (Army) 55.20m, Bhartpreet Singh (Navy) 54.62m, Oinam Alson Singh (NCOE Patiala) 53.52m
Women
- 100m hurdles: Nandhini K (TN) 13.24s, Pragyan Prashanti Sahu (Odisha) 13.33s, Anjali C (JSW) 13.35s
- 10,000m race walk: Ravina (Haryana) 44:29.66s, Reshma Patel (All India Police) 44:57.94s, Munita Prajapati (UP) 45:23.92s
- Hammer throw: Manpreet Kaur (Punjab) 59.08m, Kulvinder Kaur (Railways Sports) 57.76m, Divya Shandilya (Odisha) 56.41m
