Tamil Nadu's Baranica Elangovan scripts history with India’s first Asian Games pole vault medal

Elangovan cleared 4.15 metres in the final on Friday. She shared the bronze medal with Polina Ivanova of Kazakhstan, who also cleared 4.15m; both athletes had identical attempts at the next height, resulting in a joint third place.

The achievement marks India's first-ever Asian Games medal in pole vault across both the men's and women's events, according to reports from Olympics.com and other major sports outlets.

The 29-year-old Tamil Nadu athlete has been among India's leading pole vaulters. Earlier in 2026, she set an Indian national record of 4.22m, before improving it to 4.23m at the Indian Indoor Open Combined Events & Pole Vault Competition in Bhubaneswar.

Her Asian Games bronze adds another landmark achievement to India's athletics campaign at the Aichi-Nagoya Games.

With the historic clearance, Baranica Elangovan has now etched her name into the Asian Games record books as India's first pole vault medallist.