Archive · 25 Sep 2026
Baranica Elangovan Wins Historic Asian Games Pole Vault Bronze
Baranica Elangovan is an Indian athlete who competes in pole vaulting.
She was born in Mayiladuthurai, Tamil Nadu, and began the sport at college in Chennai.
Her coach, Milber Bertrand Russell, helped her learn and improve.
In 2026, she set India’s pole-vault record twice, ending with a jump of 4.23 meters.
At the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, she cleared 4.15 meters.
She and Kazakhstan’s Polina Ivanova had exactly the same result.
Because neither athlete could be separated by the countback rules, they shared the bronze medal.
This made Elangovan the first Indian to win an Asian Games medal in pole vaulting.
Her fellow Indian competitor Sindhushree Ganesha finished without a recorded height after failing to make a valid jump.
Baranica Elangovan became the first Indian to win an Asian Games pole-vault medal.
She cleared 4.15 meters to share the women’s pole-vault bronze with Kazakhstan’s Polina Ivanova.
Elangovan and Ivanova had identical best marks and countback records.
The 29-year-old raised India’s national record to 4.23 meters in May 2026 after clearing 4.22 meters in March.
Her historic medal followed a 2023 Asian Championships no-mark and a qualifying clearance of 4.10 meters in Bengaluru.
- Who
- Baranica Elangovan, a 29-year-old Indian pole vaulter, shared the bronze with Kazakhstan’s Polina Ivanova.
- What
- She won India’s first Asian Games medal in pole vault after clearing 4.15 meters.
- When
- Friday at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
- Where
- Nagoya, Japan.
- Why
- Elangovan and Ivanova had the same best height and identical countback records, so they shared the bronze medal.
- Athlete
- Baranica Elangovan
- Age
- 29
- Medal
- Shared bronze in women’s pole vault
- Asian Games clearance
- 4.15 meters
- National record
- 4.23 meters, set in May 2026
- Earlier 2026 record
- 4.22 meters in March at the National Indoor Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar
- Historic achievement
- India’s first Asian Games pole-vault medal
- Final attempts
- She cleared 3.85 meters and 4.00 meters, needed two attempts at 4.15 meters, and missed three attempts at 4.25 meters.
