2 min readUpdated: May 2, 2026 10:08 PM IST
Indian pole vaulter rewrote the men’s national record on Saturday after recording 5.41m mark at the inaugural Indian Indoor Open Combined Events and Pole Vault Competition in Bhubaneswar.
He cleared the mark of 5.41m in his first attempt and decided to go for 5.46m but failed to cross that mark. He broke the national recod of 5.40m set last year by Dev Kumar Meena and also improved the national indoor record of 5.30m set earlier in March by Reegan G of Tamil Nadu.
This was first time that Kuldeep has participated in an indoor Pole Vault competition.
“It was a good day for me. It was a good experience today,” said Kuldeep Kumar after making the national record.
Dev, the former record holder and one of the best pole vaulters in the country, struggled to get his rhythm going and settled for a bronze medal this time with a mark of 5.20m. He tried thrice at the 5.35m but failed. Meanwhile, former Indoor NR holder, Reegan G finished at the second place with the best mark of 5.25m.
The pre-event favourite and former national record holder Dev Kumar Meena says it wasn’t his day. But was excited that the bar was raised to 5.41m. “It is always good to aim for new goals,” says Dev Kumar Meena of the national record set by Kuldeep Kumar.
Both Dev Kumar Meena and Kuldeep Kumar practice at the same venue in Madhya Pradesh and have been training together for more than two years. Dev equalled his national record earlier this year in Taiwan, when he jumped 5.40m at Sun Moon Lake International Pole Vault Competition in March and he created the previous national record at World University Games last year.
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Results: Men: Pole vault: Kuldeep Kumar (Madhya Pradesh) 5.41m (NR), Reegan G (Tamil Nadu) 5.25m, Dev Kumar Meena (Madhya Pradesh) 5.20m.
Men: U20: Pole vault: Kavinraja S (Tamil Nadu) 4.90m, R Vishal (Tamil Nadu) 4.70m, Saurabh Yadav (Uttar Pradesh) 4.20m.
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