India's Baranica Elangovan created history at the Asian Games 2026 on Friday by becoming the first Indian to win a medal in pole vault at the continental event. She secured bronze in the women's pole vault at the Aichi-Nagoya Games.
The 29-year-old finished with a best clearance of 4.15m at the Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium in Nagoya. She shared the bronze medal with Russia's Polina Ivanova, who also cleared 4.15m.
Baranica and Ivanova had identical best efforts and the same number of failures, resulting in the bronze medal being shared.
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Baranica Clears 4.15m
Baranica cleared 3.85m and 4.00m on her first attempts.
She faced her first failure at 4.15m but recovered to clear the height on her second attempt. The Indian then attempted 4.25m but could not clear the bar in any of her three attempts.
Her competition therefore ended with a best clearance of 4.15m and a historic bronze medal.
Sindhushree Finishes Without A Valid Mark
The other Indian competing in the event, Sindhushree Ganesha, failed to register a valid mark after missing all three attempts.
Baranica's medal was India's first-ever Asian Games medal in pole vault. The result adds to her progress in 2026, with the athlete having set a national indoor record of 4.22m earlier this year and recording a personal best of 4.23m.
The Athletics Federation of India had named Baranica and Sindhushree in India's 72-member athletics squad for the Aichi-Nagoya Games.
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