Published: September 25, 2026 at 7:56 pm
Baranica Elangovan became the first Indian athlete, across genders, to win a medal in the pole vault event at the Asian Games. Elangovan took the honours with a shared bronze in the women’s category, while Manpreet Kaur also finished third in the women’s shot put.
Gulveer Singh upgraded his Asian Games bronze from three years ago to a silver in the men’s 10000m as India added three medals in athletics at Aichi-Nagoya 2026 on Friday.
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Elangovan cleared 4.15m to finish joint-third in the women’s pole vault alongside Kazakhstan’s Polina Ivanova, earning a historic bronze medal. The pair could not be separated on countback, having recorded identical competition cards, and consequently shared the bronze medal.
Baranica steals the show
The result made Baranica Elangovan the first Indian to win an Asian Games medal in pole vault. India’s national record in the women’s pole vault stands at 4.25m, set by Sindhushree Ganesha at the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar in June.
Baranica Elangovan cleared 4.15m to finish joint-third in the women’s pole vault alongside Kazakhstan’s Polina Ivanova, earning a historic bronze medal. Pic: X
Baranica, who comes from a farmer’s family from Kuthalam, near Mayiladuthurai, Tamil Nadu, had herself held the national record earlier in the season, raising it to 4.23m before Sindhushree Ganesha bettered the mark. Sindhushre, the other Indian in the final, was unable to register a valid height. After passing the opening heights, she missed twice at 3.85m before an unsuccessful attempt at 4.00m ended her campaign.
Gulveer finishes second
Gulveer Singh clocked 28:29.38 to finish second and improve on the bronze medal he won at Hangzhou 2023 with a time of 28:17.21. The 28-year-old Indian athlete stayed among the leading pack throughout the 25-lap race and remained in contention when the front group broke away from the rest of the field.
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Bahrain’s Birhanu Balew pulled clear with a strong surge over the closing stages to retain the title. Gulveer Singh held his position behind Balew to secure silver while another Bahrain runner, Albert Kiptoo, settled for bronze in 28:34.38.
Seema ends 16 years wait for medal in 10,000m; mixed relay team bags silver
Gulveer is also slated to compete in the 1500m and 5000m at the Asian Games 2026 later.
Gulveer Singh clocked 28:29.38 to finish second and improve on the bronze medal he won at Hangzhou 2023 with a time of 28:17.21
Gulveer Singh is the national record holder in the 10000m, having clocked 27:00.22 at San Juan Capistrano in the USA in March last year. The Indian distance runner has since established himself among Asia’s leading endurance athletes.
He won both the 5000m and 10000m titles at the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships and arrived in Aichi-Nagoya after winning 10000m silver and 5000m bronze at the Commonwealth Games 2026 in Glasgow.
Manpreet produces season-best effort
In the women’s shot put, Manpreet Kaur produced a season-best effort to secure the bronze medal. Manpreet Kaur was third after the opening three rounds with 16.80m before improving to 17.17m on her fourth attempt, which ultimately secured her place on the podium. Fellow Indian Krishna Jayasankar Menon finished fifth in Aichi-Nagoya with a best throw of 16.57m.
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The People’s Republic of China completed a one-two, with Song Jiayuan winning gold with 19.40m and Zhang Linru taking silver with 18.14m.
The national record in the women’s shot put is 18.41m, set by Abha Khatua in Bhubaneswar two years ago. Manpreet Kaur’s personal best is 18.06m. The 36-year-old Indian had finished fifth at the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou.
Manpreet Kaur produced a season-best effort to secure the bronze medal in shot put. Pics: AFI
There was disappointment for India in the men’s 100m, with Gurindervir Singh and Animesh Kujur both bowing out in the semifinals. Gurindervir Singh clocked 10.32s to finish fifth, while Animesh Kujur was seventh in his race with 10.38s. Neither advanced to the medal race.
In the men’s hammer throw final, Damneet Singh finished ninth with a best effort of 67.56m, while Praveen Kumar was 11th with 65.24m.
In the women’s heptathlon, Pooja (5368 points) and Anamika Kozhinjaparambil Aneesh (5234 points) finished sixth and eighth, respectively, after the conclusion of the seven events.
Kiran, Prachi, Vishal qualify
Meanwhile, Kiran Pahal and Prachi Choudhary qualified for the women’s 400m final. Kiran Pahal clocked 53.44s in her heat, while Prachi Choudhary progressed with 53.46s after finishing third and advancing as the fastest non-automatic qualifier. Both will be in action in the final on Saturday.
In the men’s 400m, Vishal Thennarasu Kayalvizhi won his heat in 45.27s to qualify automatically for Saturday’s final.
