The bar keeps rising for India's pole vault star Dev Meena

BHUBANESWAR: Dev Meena has been on a roll this year.After making the cut for the Commonwealth Games with a record-breaking show at Federation Cup in Ranchi, the athlete from Madhya Pradesh bettered the national record again to win the title at the Inter-State Athletics Championships here on Wednesday.

And speaking about his performance, the 21-year-old couldn’t be happier.“The main goal was to qualify for Asian Games, and I’m happy that I was able to do that while also setting the national record. There wasn’t any specific pressure to finish first or second; the focus was on qualification,” Meena said on Wednesday.While making it to both Asian Games and Commonwealth Games is no mean feat, what has been particularly impressive is the steady progression Meena has shown over the last 18 months.The pole vaulter first broke the national record with a 5.32m clearance at 2025 National Games before improving it to 5.35m and then 5.40m later that year. This season, Meena raised the mark to 5.42m and then 5.45m in Ranchi before clearing 5.46m in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday.But he does not want to rest on his laurels and is aiming to do better. “This is going to be my first Asian Games, and the target now is to clear 5.50m,” said Meena.

His coach, Ghanshyam Yadav, however, wants him to go even higher — 5.60m. It is, after all, Yadav who Meena credits for helping him sustain this remarkable rise over the past 18 months.“He has always pushed me to improve and keep raising the bar. His belief in me has been a major reason for my progress,” said the Asian U20 Championships bronze medallist.Like his coach, who believes the key to further improvement lies in competing abroad, Meena, too, relishes the opportunity to test himself internationally.“International competitions are very different from national events. The mindset required is different, and the experience is invaluable. That’s why I want to compete internationally as often as possible. It motivates me and helps me improve,” said Meena, who will compete at the U23 Asian Athletics Championships before heading to the Commonwealth Games.“In Taiwan, I was competing against athletes who regularly clear 5.75m and 5.80m.

I managed to clear 5.40m and performed well. Those experiences gave me confidence that I can continue to improve.”While his coach was delighted with Meena’s performance, he was disappointed that Kuldeep Kumar could not secure qualification for the Asian Games, although he will compete at the Commonwealth Games.“Our objective is always to get the best possible performance out of the athletes in every competition. This time, the target was for both of them to clear 5.50m, but it didn’t happen,” said the coach. “There were some issues during training that we are still working on, and there are areas where we can improve further.”One expects Yadav to iron out those flaws and prepare his athletes to deliver performances they can truly be proud of in the upcoming two events.