Ek dramatic aur high-voltage competition ke baad, Madhya Pradesh Academy ke Dev Meena aur Kuldeep Kumar ne Sunday, May 24, 2026 ko Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships ke men’s pole vault final mein national record ko do baar tod diya. Birsa Munda Stadium, Ranchi mein hue is thrilling final mein, dono hi athletes ne 5.45m ki height clear ki—jo ki previous national record 5.41m se zyada hai, jo ki bas kuch hi hafte pehle Kuldeep ne set kiya tha. Meena countback ke basis par gold medal jeet gaye, jabki Kuldeep silver medal apne naam kiya. Dono hi ne Commonwealth Games ke qualification standard 5.25m ko bhi easily clear kar liya, isse unke 2026 Commonwealth Games ke liye selection almost confirmed ho gayi hai.
Pole vault final mein high-stakes atmosphere mein yeh competition hui. Pehle Kuldeep ne Bhubaneswar mein 5.41m ka national record set kiya tha, lekin Meena ne 5.42m clear kar ke record apna liya. Thoda der baad hi Kuldeep ne dobara 5.45m clear kar ke record apne naam kiya. Par Meena ne bhi isi height ko clear kar ke competition ko aur dramatic bana diya. Dono ne hi 5.50m ki height par bhi try kiya, lekin three attempts mein fail ho gaye. Countback rules ke hisaab se Meena ko winner declare kiya gaya kyunki unke total misses 8 the, jabki Kuldeep ke 9—chahe dono hi ne same height clear ki thi.
Is historic performance par Meena ne kaha, “Aaj humne apna best diya aur ek doosre ko achha challenge diya. Hum aur improve karne ke liye apni fight jari rakhenge.” Kuldeep ne bhi isi sentiment ko echo karte hue kaha, “Hum is technical sport mein abhi seekh rahe hain aur improve karenge.” Unke coach Ghanshyam Yadav, jo ki Madhya Pradesh Academy mein dono ko train karte hain, ne unki dedication aur teamwork ki taarif ki. “Humare mind mein 5.50m ka target tha jab hum yahan aaye the. Humne uske liye try kiya, lekin main khush hoon ki humare ladke national record improve kar paaye,” Yadav ne kaha. Unhone highlight kiya ki kaise unka shared training aur friendly rivalry ne unki consistent improvement ko drive kiya hai—jaise ki Gurindervir Singh aur Animesh Kujur ki sprint duo mein hota hai.
Federation Cup mein aur bhi disciplines mein record-breaking performances hue. Kerala ke Murali Sreeshankar ne men’s long jump mein gold jeeta 8.08m ke leap ke saath, jo Commonwealth Games qualification standard 8.05m se bhi zyada hai. Unka third jump hi unke liye victory set kar diya, lekin unke last do attempts foul the. Maharashtra ke Sarvesh Anil Kushare ne high jump mein standout performance di aur 2.28m clear kar ke gold jeeta, jo ki meet record bhi hai—Tejaswin Shankar ke saath equal. Unhone 2.30m bhi try kiya national record 2.29m todne ke liye, lekin fail ho gaye. Tamil Nadu ke Aadarsh Ram ne 2.22m ke saath silver medal jeeta, aur Commonwealth Games ke liye qualify bhi kar liya.
Men’s 110m hurdles mein Tejas Shirse (Reliance Athletics) ne gold jeeta 13.50 seconds mein, apna hi meet record 13.61 seconds (jo unhone 2023 mein set kiya tha) ko improve kar ke. Lekin unhone Commonwealth Games ke qualifying time 13.39 seconds se 0.11 seconds chhota reh gaye, phir bhi unki performance din ka highlight thi. Women’s 10,000m race walk mein Haryana ki Ravina ne gold jeeta 44:29.66 mein, jo Commonwealth Games qualification standard 44:44.58 se bhi comfortable hai. Unke peeche Reshma Patel aur Munita Prajapati rahi.
Men’s discus throw mein Army ke Dharamraj Yadav ne 55.20m ke saath gold jeeta, jabki women’s hammer throw mein Manpreet Kaur ne 59.08m ke saath apna naam kiya. Women’s 100m hurdles mein Tamil Nadu ki Nandhini K ne 13.24 seconds mein gold jeeta. Competition mein race walking, hurdles aur throws mein bhi notable performances hue, aur kai athletes ne Commonwealth Games ke qualification marks ko cross kiya.
Federation Cup ab Indian athletes ke liye major international events se pehle apna progress dikhane ka key platform ban gaya hai. Meena aur Kumar ka pole vault ka breakthrough, saath hi jumping aur throwing events mein consistent performances se Indian athletics mein ek positive trend nazar aa raha hai—jo ki domestic competition aur technical development se driven hai.
