Federation Cup 2025: Dev Meena Dominates Day 2 With Stellar Performance in Pole Vault

Kochi, Apr 22: If Day 1 belonged to Pranav Pramod Gurav and Sachin Yadav, then Day 2 (Tuesday) unquestionably belonged to pole vaulter Dev Meena. Braving the rain-soaked skies of Kochi, Dev soared to gold with a stunning clearance of 5.35m in the men's pole vault final at the ongoing Federation Cup, smashing his own personal best and national record of 5.32m.

Just months earlier, at the 2025 National Games in Uttarakhand, he had rewritten history by surpassing Siva S's national mark of 5.31m with a 5.32m vault.

Federation Cup 2025 Dev Meena Dominates Day 2 With Stellar Performance in Pole Vault

Meena said he was a bit disappointed in missing the Asian qualification mark, but expressed his satisfaction with his Tuesday's performance. "I wanted to raise the bar, but there was drizzle, and I didn't continue with the advice of my coach," said the Madhya Pradesh athlete.

THE RISE OF DAVID IN LONG JUMP

David P stole the spotlight in the men's long jump final, soaring past national record holder Jeswin Aldrin and seasoned jumper Muhammed Anees Yahiya with a winning effort of 7.94m.

The 23-year-old had kicked off his 2025 campaign with a runner-up finish at the Indian Open Jumps Competition in Bengaluru, where he registered a solid 7.73m.

This is the second time in his young career that David has touched the 7.94m mark, having first done so in 2023 just shy of the elusive 8-metre barrier.

A name steadily climbing the ranks, David P is fast emerging as a standout talent in Indian athletics. Jeswin Aldrin took silver with a leap of 7.83m, while Muhammed Anees Yahiya claimed bronze with a best of 7.70m.

TEJAS SHIRSE FELL SHORT OF QUALIFYING FOR THE ASIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

National record holder Tejas Shirse clinched the gold medal in the men's 110m hurdles, clocking 13.65 seconds in the final. However, he narrowly missed the Asian Athletics Championships qualifying standard of 13.56s falling short by just 0.09 seconds.

Interestingly, Shirse had registered a faster time of 13.62s during the morning heats, which outpaced his gold-winning performance in the final.

JYOTHI YARRAJI AND RUPAL CHAUDHARY MAKE THE CUT

India's hurdles queen, Jyothi Yarraji, clinched the gold medal in the women's 100m hurdles final with a time of 13.23s, surpassing the Asian Championships qualification mark of 13.26s. She was also the gold medallist in the previous edition of the Asian Athletics Championships in 2023.

Jyothi revealed that she had pulled her right hamstring three weeks back and couldn't dip below 13 seconds. "Kochi was my only chance for me to make the cut for the Asian (Athletics Championship) meet. Hence, I had no choice but to compete," Jyothi added.

In the women's 400m final, World U-20 Championships medalist Rupal Chaudhary clinched the gold medal with a time of 52.55s, comfortably surpassing the Asian Championships qualifying mark of 53.80s.

"I just wanted to catch up and shifted to another gear as the first 200m was slow," Rupal said after winning the gold medal. "I'm happy to have won the race."

In a thrilling finish, Vithya Ramraj, who had led the race from the outset was overtaken by Rupal in the final 10-20 meters and had to settle for silver with a time of 52.81s.

Vithya said she paid for the brutal pace in the first 300m. "I never had energy to move forward and had to settle for second place," Vithya said.

The Federation Cup, filled with intense performances, proves once again that Indian athletics is on the rise, with athletes pushing their limits and setting new benchmarks. The future looks brighter than ever.