Pole vaulter Dev Kumar Meena targets new heights at Indian Indoor Open in Bhubaneswar

Little more than a month back in Taiwan, Dev Kumar Meena of Madhya Pradesh equalled his national record mark in pole vault when he cleared 5.40m at Sun Moon Lake International Pole Vault Championships. He achieved the same mark even during the World University Games in Bochum last year.But now he will look to push even higher as he competes at the inaugural Indian Indoor Open Combined Events and Pole Vault Competition to be held in Bhubaneswar on May 2 and 3.This will be only his second-ever indoor meet, and he is eager to get things going ahead of the major competitions in the coming months.“My experience the first time around wasn’t great. I competed at the Taiwan International Indoor Pole Vault Meet in March, but it didn’t go well as I couldn’t make a single jump. I just couldn’t figure things out then and didn’t understand how the indoor environment works,” said the pole vaulter, who has been training at Indoor Athletics Centre of Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar for the past three days.Now, though, he has a better understanding of it and is happy with the way his body has adapted to it.“The track is excellent and very fast. The sensation is great and it feels very responsive. My body is warming up very effectively, and everything is running smoothly. Moreover, there’s the added benefit of a reduced risk of injury,” added the 20-year-old.Also, with the weather factor completely out of the equation, he is confident of achieving his PB mark if not more.“There’s more air resistance outdoors, and you sometimes have to deal with rain or wet conditions,” said Meena. “Indoors, you don’t have to worry about these factors and focus entirely on the performance.”While a good performance indoors will certainly boost his confidence, he knows he needs to go past his personal best at the senior Federation Cup in Ranchi later this month to stay in contention for Asian Games, with the qualification benchmark set at 5.45 m. As far as the Commonwealth Games are concerned, the Athletics Federation of India has kept the qualifying standard lower, at 5.25 m.“In pole vaulting, approximately 80% of the discipline relies on running. So, my primary focus remains squarely on perfecting my running technique,” added the athlete, who takes a lot of inspiration from Armand Duplantis and wants to compete with him someday.Apart from Meena, 13 other pole vaulters will compete in the men’s event scheduled for Saturday including Kuldeep Kumar of Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu’s Reegan G.Meanwhile, the women’s pole vault final will be held on Sunday, with 11 athletes in the fray. The spotlight will be on national record holder Baranica Elangovan, whose season and personal best of 4.22 m is also the national mark.Besides these two major events, competitions will also be held in the men’s and women’s U20 categories, as well as in the heptathlon (men) and pentathlon (women) in both senior and U20 groups over the two days.