Federation Cup 2026: Dev Kumar Meena and Kuldeep Kumar break national pole vault record with 5.45m clearances

Indian athletics witnessed another historic evening at the 29th National Senior Athletics Federation Cup as Madhya Pradesh’s Dev Kumar Meena and Kuldeep Kumar jointly rewrote the men’s pole vault national record with identical clearances of 5.45m at the Birsa Munda Stadium on Sunday.

In one of the standout moments of the competition, the two training partners pushed each other to new heights in a dramatic head-to-head battle that saw the national record broken multiple times within minutes.

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Kuldeep Kumar had entered the competition as the national record holder after recently clearing 5.41m in Bhubaneswar. However, Dev Kumar Meena was the first to go past that mark in Ranchi, clearing 5.42m to briefly claim the national record for himself.

Moments later, Kuldeep responded with a brilliant clearance of 5.45m to reclaim the record. Not willing to be left behind, Dev matched the effort on his very next attempt, ensuring both athletes finished the competition as joint national record holders with identical marks of 5.45m.

While Dev Kumar Meena secured the gold medal on countback, Kuldeep Kumar settled for silver despite matching the same height. Their performances also comfortably surpassed the Commonwealth Games qualification mark of 5.25m.

The duo then attempted 5.50m in a bid to extend the national record even further, but neither athlete managed to clear the height. Still, the electrifying contest had already become one of the defining highlights of this year’s Federation Cup.

“It was a good day for us and we will continue to push each other to further raise the bar in future,” Dev Kumar Meena said after winning gold.

Sunday’s action in Ranchi also produced several other impressive performances across track and field events.

Also Read: Historic day in Athletics: Vishal TK breaks sub-45, Gurindervir sets 100m record, Tejaswin hits 8000

In the men’s long jump, Olympian M Sreeshankar clinched gold with a leap of 8.08m, crossing the Commonwealth Games qualification mark of 8.05m.

Sarvesh Anil Kushare dominated the men’s high jump competition with a winning effort of 2.28m, equalling the meet record set by Tejaswin Shankar and also surpassing the CWG qualification standard of 2.22m. He later attempted 2.30m in pursuit of a new national record but failed to clear the height.

In the men’s 110m hurdles, Tejas Ashok Shirse improved his own meet record with a gold-winning time of 13.50 seconds, though he narrowly missed the Commonwealth Games qualification mark of 13.39 seconds.

Earlier in the day, Haryana’s Ravina secured gold in the women’s 10,000m race walk with a timing of 44:29.66 seconds, comfortably breaching the Commonwealth Games qualification standard.

The Federation Cup has already produced multiple record-breaking moments, including Gurindervir Singh becoming the first Indian sprinter to clock sub-10.10 seconds in the men’s 100m with a national record time of 10.09 seconds earlier in the competition.

Also Read: ‘Entire Punjab takes pride’: CM Bhagwant Mann praises Gurindervir Singh after landmark 10.09s NR run

With several athletes achieving qualification standards and national records tumbling in Ranchi, the 2026 Federation Cup has emerged as a major statement event for Indian athletics ahead of upcoming international competitions.