Lucknow: Pole vault is the favourite sport for the youth in the locality of Mauaima, adjoining Prayagraj district in Uttar Pradesh. The reason is that many past pole vaulters of note such as Babita Patel, Ankit Yadav and Mukesh Kumar Chaudhary have emerged from here.
Event Context
The latest is the emergence of Kuldeep Kumar, a recent national record holder, under coach Ghanshyam Yadav, who has also helped Madhya Pradesh’s Dev Meena shatter the national record twice this year. Yadav hopes both his trainees will make their presence felt at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games with a podium finish.
Yadav isn’t looking at the immediate future. He has chalked out plans for Kumar and Meena to build them to qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. “Both are capable of winning medals at the CWG 2026, but my real target is to prepare them for the 2028 Olympics,” he said on Wednesday.
Team Analysis
Their rivalry and partnership has led to renewed interest in the event at national level.
“I am happy to carry forward the legacy of Mauaima’s pole vaulters… There are over 50-60 pole vaulters who can be groomed,” Yadav said.
Kumar comes from a family of pole vaulters. Four of his brothers are pole vaulters and sprinters, who were also taken by Yadav to the Bhopal academy, where modern facilities have allowed him to set up a specialised pole-vault programme.
Yadav emphasises on fundamentals like runway speed, planting mechanics, pole selection and progress in technique. “The Bhopal set-up also gives me access to promising athletes and competition partners, which I use to create training intensity and healthy rivalry. Here I get a free hand to decide things,” said Yadav, who has helped MP athletes win more than 100 medals at domestic level.
“The recent form of Kuldeep and Dev gives them confidence. The tactical planning for competitions focuses on peaking at major events, managing attempts to exploit countback rules and conserving energy for higher heights,” said Yadav.
However, Yadav said he has requested the Madhya Pradesh government to appoint a foreign pole vault coach for his athletes to learn modern methods. “We’re hoping to have a foreign coach from Cuba soon after the CWG 2026 as we want to prepare our athletes for the Asian Games and beyond,” he said. “It will also help me learn new things in coaching.”
Pole vaulters in India face logistical challenges such as transporting poles, finding competition-standard equipment and support staff tailored to the event. “I’ve repeatedly spoken about and found practical solutions to these constraints for my athletes. The latest incident where my athletes weren’t allowed to carry their equipment on a train is one of the reasons behind concerns for my athletes.”
Match Outlook
A medallist at the school nationals and All India Inter University competition, Yadav said his short stature held him back, and so he wants guide his wards to the heights he could not reach. “When I joined the MP athletics academy in Bhopal in 2016 as a coach, I decided to produce top pole vaulters who could make a mark in the world,” said the coach who is based in Bhopal.
“Achieving Olympic standards demands continued improvements, exposure to stronger international fields, and support for recovery and sports science. I am working hard to secure these for my proteges.”
Both Meena and Kumar have raised the national standard. They have traded the national record in recent domestic competitions. Both cleared 5.45m at the Federation Cup to jointly hold the national record, after an exciting duel. Meena then made the record his own at the Inter-State meet in May clearing 5.46m.
