Photo via Hindustan Times

Meet Baranica Elangovan, India’s first pole vault medallist across Asian Games, CWG and Olympics

Baranica Elangovan secured a historic bronze medal at the 2026 Asian Games, clearing 4.15m in the pole vault competition. This achievement marks the first time an Indian athlete has earned a podium finish in this discipline across the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, and Olympics.

Japan's Misaki Morota captured the gold with a 4.55m clearance, while China's Chunge Niu claimed silver at 4.50m.

The twenty-nine-year-old competitor previously established a national record of 4.22m earlier in the year at the National Indoor Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar, surpassing Rosy Meena's prior mark of 4.21m. Although she subsequently pushed her record to 4.23m in May, G Sindhushree later claimed the national mark at 4.25m.

Elangovan, who transitioned from sprinting and long jumping during her college years, overcame a 2020 ACL injury and utilized training facilities at the Reliance Foundation High Performance Centre following her relocation to Bhubaneswar in 2023.

Up nextAthletics· 41m ago

Deepak Punia holds off Ganbaatar 2-1 to clinch Asian Games wrestling bronze