India is set for a busy penultimate day at the Commonwealth Games 2026 in Glasgow on Saturday, August 1, with numerous athletes competing in medal events across athletics, boxing, judo, and para athletics, including several gold medal bouts in boxing.
Dev Kumar Meena and Kuldeep Kumar shattered the national pole vault record at the National Senior Athletics Federation Competition, clearing 5.45m. Meena won gold on countback. Both athletes met the Commonwealth Games qualification standard.
Pole-vaulter Kuldeep Kumar set a new national record of 5.41m at the inaugural Indian Indoor Open Combined Events and Pole Vault Competition in Bhubaneswar on Saturday, representing Madhya Pradesh. The 21-year-old from Prayagraj bettered Dev Kumar Meena's previous mark of 5.40m, achieved at the World University Games last year. Kuldeep hopes his achievement will bring visibility to pole vault in India and prevent future incidents like the one in January when he and Meena were briefly detained at Panvel railway station after ticket examiners objected to their poles being called 'steel pipes'.
Pole vaulter Kuldeep Kumar set a new national record of 5.41m at the inaugural Indian Indoor Open Combined Events and Pole Vault Competition in Bhubaneswar on Saturday, bettering Dev Kumar Meena's previous mark of 5.40m. The 21-year-old from Prayagraj, who was briefly detained at Panvel railway station in January with his poles, said he hopes this achievement ensures no one else faces similar issues.
