Dev Meena Breaks National Record in Pole Vault Competition at Asian Games

Dev Kumar Meena’s Asian Games pole vault campaign ended without a medal, but not before the 19-year-old Indian produced the defining moment of his competition by rewriting the national record in Nagoya on Tuesday.

Meena cleared 5.50m on his second attempt, bettering the Indian record he had set only months earlier. His achievement came after a difficult opening attempt at the height, when his approach and plant were not as clean. On the second try, however, the Indian executed the movement far more effectively and sailed over the bar. It was a significant milestone in a competition that ultimately ended at 5.50m, after Meena failed to clear 5.60m in three attempts.

The result means Meena leaves the Asian Games with a new national benchmark, despite being unable to progress into the medal battle.

From 5.35m to a national record

Meena's competition had started steadily. The Indian cleared 5.20m, although he required two attempts. At 5.35m, he initially showed some hesitation, with a stutter in the approach at the preceding height, but settled down to clear 5.30m on his first attempt.

Both Meena and fellow Indian Kuldeep Kumar eventually cleared 5.35m, keeping the Indian pair in the competition as the leading contenders began entering the event.

The bar then moved to 5.50m. That height carried particular significance for Meena because clearing it would mean improving the national record he had established at the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in June.

His first attempt did not produce the desired result. But the second attempt was markedly different. The approach was controlled, the plant was cleaner and Meena generated enough vertical lift to clear the bar. He stayed away from the crossbar and landed safely on the mat. 

5.50m. National record.

The clearance bettered his own previous national mark and provided a major highlight for the Indian contingent.

After setting the record, Meena had to raise his level again. The bar moved to 5.60m, a height that would have kept him in contention as the competition progressed. Meena attempted the height three times but could not produce another successful clearance. With all three attempts unsuccessful, his competition came to an end.

The progression nevertheless represented a meaningful step. Meena had entered the final with a personal best and national record of 5.46m, and he improved that mark to 5.50m on the Asian Games stage. His 5.50m clearance also demonstrated that the record set in June was not an isolated performance. He was able to reproduce and improve upon it under major-championship pressure.

India's second representative, Kuldeep Kumar, also exited the competition at the same stage. Kuldeep cleared 5.20m after two attempts and eventually negotiated 5.35m, although he needed all three attempts at that height. He then faced 5.50m, which would have represented a personal best.

His final attempt produced the closest call. Kuldeep appeared to come extremely close to the bar before adjusting his body in the air and successfully getting over it on the third attempt at 5.35m. However, he could not clear 5.50m. With three failures at the height, Kuldeep's competition ended.

The Indian pair therefore did not progress into the later stages of the final, but Meena's national record ensured that India's participation still produced a landmark performance.

Meena's record is particularly notable given the unusual route he has taken in athletics. He had initially pursued sprinting before moving into pole vault, a transition that has transformed his career. The progress has been rapid, with his national record moving from 5.32m to 5.45m and then 5.46m before Tuesday's 5.50m clearance.

He had also finished fourth at the 2026 Commonwealth Games with a 5.30m clearance. The Asian Games final therefore provided another opportunity to test that progression against a much stronger continental field. At the front of the competition, the standard was significantly higher. Asian record holder Ernest John Obiena entered with a personal best of 6.00m, while several other competitors had season-best marks well above India's current national-record level.

The Indian duo consequently faced a steep challenge simply to remain in the competition as the bar moved toward the medal zone.

Meena's final result will be recorded as an elimination at 5.60m, but the headline from his afternoon is the 5.50m national record. For an athlete still developing in an event he took up after moving away from sprinting, breaking his own national record at an Asian Games final represents another important marker in his progression.

There was also a clear technical lesson in his performance. His first attempt at 5.50m lacked the precision required at the plant, while the second attempt produced the cleanest execution of the competition and the record clearance. The next challenge will be converting that improved technical execution into consistency at 5.60m and beyond.

For now, Meena leaves Nagoya without a medal but with something tangible to take forward: a new Indian record of 5.50m.

His Asian Games competition is over. His progression, however, continues.