Elangovan wins shared Asian Games pole vault bronze

Baranica Elangovan won a shared bronze medal in the women’s pole vault at the 2026 Asian Games on September 25, giving India its first medal in the event at the continental Games, according to reports of the result. Elangovan cleared 4.15 metres and finished level with Kazakhstan’s Polina Ivanova, who recorded the same height and had an identical number of failed attempts at 4.25 metres. The athletes shared third place. Japan’s Misaki Morota won gold with a clearance of 4.55 metres, while China’s Chunge Niu took silver at 4.50 metres. Elangovan’s 4.15-metre result was below her reported personal best and national record of 4.23 metres, but secured a place on the podium in her first Asian Games final. The accounts of the result describe the milestone in slightly different ways: some call it India’s first Asian Games medal in women’s pole vault, while others say it is the country’s first medal in pole vault across both the men’s and women’s events. The sources do not settle that distinction. They agree that no Indian had previously won a medal in the event at the Games. Elangovan, 29, is from Mayiladuthurai in Tamil Nadu.