Asian Games: Baranica clinches historic bronze in women's pole vault

Nagoya: Baranica Elangovan scripted history by becoming the first Indian to win a pole vault medal at the Asian Games, clearing 4.15 m to claim bronze at the Aichi-Nagoya Games here on Friday.

The 29-year-old Tamil Nadu athlete shared the bronze medal with Kazakhstan’s Polina Ivanova, who also cleared 4.15 m and had an identical countback record. Baranica and Ivanova could not be separated after both athletes finished with the same best mark and number of successful attempts.

Baranica began her final with two confident clearances at 3.85m and 4.00m. She needed two attempts to clear 4.15m before moving on to 4.25m, but three unsuccessful attempts at the height brought her competition to an end.

Baranica’s breakthrough medal caps a remarkable year in which she has repeatedly raised the benchmark in Indian women’s pole vault. She broke the national record twice in 2026, first clearing 4.22m in March before improving it to 4.23m in May in Bhubaneswar. The Athletics Federation of India lists her 4.23m effort as the current national record.

A three-time national outdoor champion, Baranica had endured a no-mark at the 2023 Asian Championships but responded strongly this season. She cleared the Asian Games qualifying standard of 4.10 m to win the Indian Open Jumps Competition in Bengaluru before producing another national-record performance.

She arrived in Nagoya with a personal best of 4.23m and had been involved in a close domestic contest with fellow Indian and training partner Sindhushree Ganesha, who was also part of the Asian Games field. Their performances throughout the season pushed the level of Indian women’s pole vault higher.

Sindhushree, however, could not register a valid mark in the final and finished without a recorded height.

Baranica’s historic bronze came on a productive day for Indian athletics, with Gulveer Singh also winning silver in the men’s 10,000 m. Gulveer clocked 28:29.38 to finish behind Bahrain’s Birhanu Balew and become the first Indian to win two Asian Games medals in the men’s 10,000m, adding to his Hangzhou bronze.

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