Record-breaking pole vaulters left to transport their own poles on e-rikshaw after Federation Cup Athletics tournament

Indian athletes Dev Kumar Meena and Kuldeep Kumar endured a tough time following their record-breaking feats at the Federation Cup Athletics tournament in Ranchi on Sunday.

According to a video shared by a journalist from The New Indian Express, both the athletes were forced to arrange their own travel in a small e-rikshaw following the event. In the video, the two of them can be seen manually transporting their five-meter-long fibreglass poles on the back of the e-rikshaw.

Transporting pole-vaulting equipment is not easy, as they are heavy and fragile. Several social media users were quick to call out the systematic failure when it comes to the welfare of athletes.

The TTE reportedly harassed the two athletes and said that they weren't allowed to carry poles on the train.

In a video plea, both the athletes explained the incident and said that they were stranded at Panvel station as they were trying to explain that the poles are an important piece of equipment for the sport they play. They were returning after participating in the All India Inter-University Championship.

Talking about their performances, Kuldeep Kumar came into the Federation Cup Athletics tournament on the back of a national record of 5.41m that he had set earlier in May. Dev Meena, however, broke Kuldeep's record as he cleared a distance of 5.42m.

That record, however, was short-lived as Kuldeep Kumar bounced back to set yet another new record of 5.45m. In his next attempt, Dev cleared a distance of 5.45m as well, thus both the athletes jointly holding the national record.

They even attempted to clear a distance of 5.50m, but failed to do so. Dev Meena won the gold medal, whereas Kuldeep Kumar clinched silver. 

The two of them also qualified for the 2026 Commonwealth Games that will take place in Glasgow later this year. Both of them met the Athletes Federation of India's qualification requirement of 5.25m.