Kuldeep Kumar is the new Indian national record holder in men’s pole vault. At the 1st Indian Indoor Open Combined Events and Pole Vault in Bhubaneswar, the 21-year-old from Madhya Pradesh cleared 5.41m, breaking the previous national record of 5.40m held by his fellow Dev Meena, who finished third at 5.20m. Reegan G finished second at 5.25m.
It was a breakthrough performance. The kind that comes quietly into Indian athletics and deserves a lot more hype than it is getting.
What makes Kuldeep’s story remarkable is not just the number. This is what preceded it.
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE
TRAIN, TTE, PLATFORM
A few months earlier, in January 2026, Kuldeep Kumar and Dev Meena were returning from the All India Intercollegiate Championship. They boarded the train. The examining passenger ordered them off to Panvel station. The reason: they were carrying poles.
The two athletes spent nearly five hours stuck on the platform trying to explain to the railway authorities that their sticks were not excess baggage or a nuisance. They were the tools of their sport. Nothing worked. No one in the authorities seemed particularly interested in resolving the situation.
Meena later made a video of the ordeal that went viral. In it, he raised a question that remained relevant long after the clip stopped circulating: if a national record holder can this be treated, what happens to junior athletes every day?
CLEARING EVERY BARK
That’s the part worth dwelling on. He didn’t get there with the help of the system. He got there despite everything, the indignity in Panvel, the lack of attention that Indian athletics gets, the absence of any real infrastructure for a sport as demanding and technical as pole vaulting.
He took off down the runway at Bhubaneswar, deployed his pole and flew over a pole that no Indian had ever cleared before. On the other side of that bar was a national record, a podium and a declaration that Indian pole vaulting had a new name to reckon with.
WHAT DOES THIS NUMBER MEAN
Kuldeep Kumar is just 21 years old. He has the time, the talent, and now the national record. They board other trains. He will carry his sticks. Whether he will be treated with basic dignity when he does remains an open question, unfortunately.
For now, this number is 5.41 meters. National record. Proof that some athletes overcome every bar that is put in front of them, even those that have nothing to do with sports.
– The end
Issued by:
Amar Panicker
Published on:
02 May 2026 19:27 IST
