Nat’l Games: Meena vaults to glory

Dehradun: Madhya Pradesh’s Dev Kumar Meena smashed the national record in men’s pole vault event while winning the gold medal with an effort of 5.32m on the third day of athletics competition at the National Games here Monday.

The 19-year-old Meena bettered the earlier national record of 5.31m set by Subramani Siva while winning the gold in the 2022 Games in Gujarat.

Meena defended the gold he had won in the 2023 edition.

He had won a bronze medal in the Asian U20 Championship last year with an effort of 5.10m. He had also won gold in the Senior Federation Cup National Championships in Bhubaneswar last year.

In men’s shot put, national record holder Tajinderpal Singh Toor of Punjab won the gold with a throw of 19.74m. Defending champion Samardeep Singh Gill (19.38m) of Madhya Pradesh and Prabhkirpal Singh (19.04m), also of Punjab, clinched the silver and bronze, respectively.