Baranica Elangovan wins India's first-ever Asian Games pole vault bronze

There had never been an Indian on an Asian Games pole vault podium. Baranica Elangovan changed that in Nagoya on Friday, clearing 4.15m to win a historic bronze in the women's event and end a long wait for India in a discipline that has produced no medal at the continental Games before.

Baranica, 29, shared the bronze with Kazakhstan's Polina Ivanova after both athletes cleared 4.15m before failing to go over 4.25m. They had the same number of failures, resulting in a tie for third place. Japan's Misaki Morota won gold with a personal best clearance of 4.55m, while China's Chunge Niu took silver with 4.50m.

Born on February 3, 1997, in Mayiladuthurai, Tamil Nadu, Baranica has taken a long route to the Asian Games podium. An ACL injury in 2020 forced her into a lengthy rehabilitation period, but she continued her efforts to return to competitive athletics. In 2023, she moved to the Reliance Foundation High Performance Centre in Bhubaneswar, where access to improved training and recovery facilities helped her work her way back and make progress in the event.BARANICA ELANGOVAN MAKES HISTORY! Baranica Elangovan clears 4.15m to win BRONZE at the Asian Games — becoming India’s first-ever Asian Games medallist in pole vault, across both men and women.Baranica and Polina Ivanova both cleared 4.15m but failed at 4.25m, earning them— nnis Sports|Asian GamesAthletics (@nnis_sports) September 25, 2026

She had a difficult outing at the 2023 Asian Championships, where she recorded a no-mark, but the following years brought a steady rise. In March 2026, Baranica cleared 4.22m at the National Indoor Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar to set a new national record. She improved the mark to 4.23m at the Indian Indoor Open Combined Events and Pole Vault Competition in May, taking her personal best to the same height.

Her performances on the domestic circuit also earned her a place among India's leading pole vaulters. Baranica cleared the Asian Games qualifying mark of 4.10m to win gold at the Indian Open Jumps Competition in Bengaluru in March and later won the pole vault title at the 65th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships with a clearance of 4.20m.

Baranica's season has also included a close battle with training partner and fellow finalist Sindhushree Ganesha. The two have pushed each other throughout the year as they chased the Indian record, with Baranica eventually raising the mark to 4.23m before heading to Nagoya.

The work behind her rise has also included support through India's sporting programmes. She received assistance for a pre-competition training camp in India and Japan ahead of the Asian Games and was provided financial assistance of Rs 4,65,678 under the Annual Calendar for Training and Competition (ACTC) during the Asian Games cycle.

Her bronze came on a productive day for India's athletics contingent in Nagoya. Gulveer Singh upgraded his Asian Games bronze to silver in the men's 10,000m, while Manpreet Kaur won bronze in the women's shot put. India also won gold in the mixed team pistol event in shooting, taking its overall medal tally past 20 at the Aichi-Nagoya Games.- Ends