Top pole vaulters forced to get off train in Mumbai over sporting equipment
Dev Meena and Kuldeep Yadav, who is also a top pole vaulter, were returning from All India Inter-University Athletics Championships in Bengaluru and travelling to Bhopal.
New Delhi: National record holder in men’s pole vault Dev Kumar Meena and another athelete were allegedly harassed by a Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) and asked to get down the train at the Panvel railway station in Mumbai over their sporting equipment (pole).
Meena and Kuldeep Yadav, who is also a top pole vaulter, were returning from All India Inter-University Athletics Championships in Bengaluru and travelling to Bhopal.
The duo was allegedly asked to deboard the train at Panel station by the ticket examiner for carrying their pole vault poles worth lakhs, calling the highly specialised gear "unauthorised luggage." The sports gear costs approximately Rs 2 lakh each, measuring nearly 5 metres in length.
Athletes express frustration
The athletes said that they tried to explain to the ticket examiner about the pole and requested him to speak to senior officials and even offered to pay a fine but he dismissed their pleas. The duo were made to wait at the Panvel station for four to five hours.
"If this is happening to us, what should I expect for my juniors?" asked Dev Meena, the national record holder (5.40m), in a video shared by NNIS Sports. "If these things are still happening to an international-level athlete in India, what can I say?" he added.
Dev Meena, 19, who hails from Madhya Pradesh broke his own national record in pole vault with an effort of 5.35m in the National Federation Senior Athletics Championships in April 2025.
Kuldeep Yadav, who won gold at the Bengaluru meet with a 5.10m jump, claimed that pole vaulters face a similar issue while travelling on flights.
"We face the same problem while travelling in flights and the same issue occurs in trains. Where will the athlete go? We need space to travel. Even if it costs us money, we will pay it, but our equipment must be carried properly," he said.
Allowed to board another train with warning
The athletes missed the connecting train due to the standoff and were allowed to board another train later after hectic negotiations, and they paid a fine. They alleged that the authorities also warned them of further action if a single passenger complained about the space taken by the poles.