Baranica Elangovan wins India's 1st ever Asian Games 2026 medal in women's pole vault event

Baranica Elangovan bagged a bronze, India's first ever medal in pole vault event in Asian Games history. In the women's pole vault final in Nagoya on September 25, Baranica cleared 4.15m to finish third alongside Kazakhstan's Polina Ivanova. However, since both of them cleared 4.15 in their fifth attempt, there was no jump-off for the bronze medal which is only invoked in case of a tie for the gold medal finish.

Japan's Misaki Morota won the gold with her personal best of 4.55m. China's Chunge Niu secured a silver with 4.50m jump. The other Indian in women's pole vault final was Sindhushree Ganesha. She finished at the bottom.

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3rd bronze on Day 6

Baranica's bronze is India's third on Day 6. Before her, Manush Shah and Divya Chitale had bagged a bronze medal after a defeat in the mixed table tennis semifinal. Also, Manpreet Kaur claimed a bronze medal with a 17.17m throw in women's shot put event. 

Baranica's record-breaking run in 2026

Earlier this year, Baranica set a national record with a 4.22m jump at the National Indoor Athletics Championships at Bhubaneswar. The previous record was held by Rosy Meena Paulraj with a 4.21m jump four years ago. Baranica went one step further and broke her own record with 4.23 jump in Indian Indoor Open. Her record was broken by Sindhushree with a 4.25m jump.