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Dev Kumar Meena and Kuldeep Kumar produced one of the standout moments of the National Senior Athletics Federation Competition after both athletes broke the national pole vault record during a dramatic contest on Sunday. Representing Madhya Pradesh, the two training partners cleared 5.45m, improving upon the previous national record of 5.41m that had recently been set by Kuldeep Kumar in Bhubaneswar. Despite both athletes achieving the same height, Dev Kumar Meena clinched the gold medal through countback rules, while Kuldeep settled for silver. In pole vault and high jump events, countback is used to separate athletes tied at the same height by checking who cleared the mark in fewer attempts during the competition. The result marked a huge milestone for Indian athletics, with both vaulters also comfortably breaching the Athletics Federation of India’s Commonwealth Games qualification standard of 5.25m for the 2026 edition. After the event, Dev Kumar highlighted the healthy rivalry and friendship between the pair. “It was a good day for us and we will continue to push each other to further raise the bar in future,” he said. While the spotlight on Saturday belonged largely to sprinters, Sunday’s action was dominated by field events and several impressive performances across disciplines. Murali Sreeshankar secured gold in the men’s long jump with an effort of 8.08m, surpassing the Commonwealth Games qualification mark of 8.05m. In the men’s high jump, Sarvesh Anil Kushare delivered another standout display by clearing 2.28m to win gold and qualify for the Commonwealth Games. His jump also equalled the meet record previously set by Tejaswin Shankar. Kushare even attempted 2.30m in an effort to better the national record of 2.29m, but failed to clear the height in all three attempts. Silver medallist Aadarsh Ram also crossed the CWG qualification standard after managing 2.22m. Meanwhile, national record holder Tejas Shirse dominated the men’s 110m hurdles final. Representing Reliance, Shirse clocked 13.50 seconds to win gold and improve his own meet record of 13.61 seconds, although he narrowly missed the Commonwealth Games qualification timing of 13.39 seconds. Earlier in the day, Ravina claimed gold in the women’s 10,000m race walk after clocking 44:29.66 seconds, comfortably going under the CWG qualification standard of 44:44.58 seconds. Other gold medallists included Dharamraj Yadav in the men’s discus throw and Manpreet Kaur in the women’s hammer throw, while Nandhini K won the women’s 100m hurdles title.
