Who is Dev Meena? He is the 21-year-old pole vaulter from Madhya Pradesh who holds India’s men’s pole vault record of 5.50m. Dev Meena set that record in the Asian Games final in Nagoya on 29 September 2026, where he finished seventh. Two months earlier, he placed fourth at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Yet Dev started out as a sprinter in a village in Dewas district. This page therefore tells his whole story so far: his two big championship finals, his record progression, his 2026 season event by event, and his life away from the runway.
Dev Meena at a glance
- Full name: Dev Kumar Meena
- Born: 7 May 2005, Dewas district, Madhya Pradesh
- Age: 21
- State: Madhya Pradesh
- Event: Pole vault
- Personal best: 5.50m, national record (Asian Games, Nagoya, 29 September 2026)
- Headline results: seventh at the Asian Games 2026, fourth at the Commonwealth Games 2026, bronze at the 2024 Asian U20 Championships
- Education: Bachelor of Arts student, Khalsa College, Amritsar
- Off the track: trains at the Madhya Pradesh Athletics Academy in Bhopal under coach Ghanshyam Yadav
Jump to: Who is he Asian Games record CWG fourth 2026 season Personal best His story Beyond the vault
Who is Dev Meena? The short answer
Dev Meena is an Indian pole vaulter who represents Madhya Pradesh. He was born on 7 May 2005, according to World Athletics, and he competes as Dev Kumar Meena.
He has improved the Indian record again and again since 2025, often in a back-and-forth duel with his training partner Kuldeep Kumar. In 2026 alone, he cleared 5.42m, 5.45m, 5.46m and 5.50m as new national records.
Asian Games 2026: a 5.50m national record in Nagoya
Dev reached the 12-man final in Nagoya on Tuesday 29 September. He passed the opening height of 5.05m, cleared 5.20m and 5.35m, and then went over 5.50m for a new national record. However, he could not clear 5.60m in three attempts.
As a result, he finished seventh. The Philippines’ EJ Obiena won gold with a Games record of 5.91m, while Kuldeep Kumar placed tenth with 5.35m.
| Place | Athlete | Country | Height |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | EJ Obiena | Philippines | 5.91m (Games record) |
| 2 | Yao Jie | China | 5.70m |
| 3 | Li Chen-Yang | China | 5.70m |
| 7 | Dev Meena | India | 5.50m (national record) |
| 10 | Kuldeep Kumar | India | 5.35m |
The jump also capped a long road to Nagoya. Dev booked his place by clearing 5.46m in June, just above the 5.45m standard, and he was then named in India’s 79-member athletics squad. Full results from the Games are on our Asian Games 2026 hub.
Commonwealth Games 2026: fourth in Glasgow
Glasgow was Dev’s first Commonwealth Games, and he went there as one of India’s two men’s pole vaulters. The final took place on Saturday 1 August.
Dev cleared 5.30m but then failed all three attempts at 5.40m. Meanwhile, three rivals cleared that height, so he finished fourth, just off the podium. Our CWG 2026 page has every Indian result from Glasgow.
Download PDF: CWG 2026 complete results
Dev Meena’s 2026 season, event by event
His season started slowly, with two clearances of 5.25m at home. However, the record then rose step by step: 5.42m and 5.45m in Ranchi in May, 5.46m in Bhubaneswar in June and 5.50m in Nagoya in September.
| When | Meet | Event | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season opener | Indian Open Jumps | Pole vault | 5.25m |
| March | Sun Moon Lake International Pole Vault, Taiwan | Pole vault | 5.40m, third, equalled national record |
| Before April | Indian Athletics Series-2, Jaipur | Pole vault | 5.25m, second |
| May | Indian Indoor Open Combined Events and Pole Vault, Bhubaneswar | Pole vault (indoor) | 5.20m, third |
| 24 May | Federation Cup, Ranchi | Pole vault | 5.45m, joint national record, gold on countback |
| 24 June | Inter-State Championships, Bhubaneswar | Pole vault | 5.46m, national record, national title |
| 1 August | Commonwealth Games, Glasgow | Pole vault | 5.30m, fourth |
| 10 September | Indian Athletics Final Series, New Delhi | Pole vault | 5.40m, won |
| 29 September | Asian Games final, Nagoya | Pole vault | 5.50m, national record, seventh |
Who is Dev Meena at his best? Personal best and national records
His personal best is the 5.50m from Nagoya, which his World Athletics profile lists as a national record. The table below also shows each national record he has set along the way, from our race reports and news coverage.
| Event | Height | Where | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pole vault (personal best) | 5.50m NR | Asian Games, Nagoya | 29 September 2026 |
| Pole vault | 5.46m NR | Inter-State Championships, Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar | 24 June 2026 |
| Pole vault | 5.45m NR (shared with Kuldeep Kumar) | Federation Cup, Birsa Munda Stadium, Ranchi | 24 May 2026 |
| Pole vault | 5.42m NR | Federation Cup, Birsa Munda Stadium, Ranchi | 24 May 2026 |
| Pole vault | 5.40m NR | World University Games qualification, Germany | July 2025 |
| Pole vault | 5.35m NR | Federation Cup, Maharaja’s College Stadium, Kochi | 2025 |
| Pole vault | 5.32m NR | National Games, Dehradun | February 2025 |
His 5.32m in February 2025 broke the 5.31m record that S Siva had held since 2022. Since then, the men’s record has moved again and again, and our round-up of 26 national records in a historic 2026 season puts the pole vault duel at its centre.
Who is Dev Meena’s coach? From a Dewas village to Bhopal
Dev grew up in a village in Dewas district, where he first ran the 100m and 200m. Later, he trained as a 400m runner in Bhopal. There, coach Ghanshyam Yadav decided that Dev’s height and build suited the pole vault instead, and he has guided him ever since at the Madhya Pradesh Athletics Academy.
The switch paid off quickly. In 2023 he won National Games gold with 5.16m and became the first Indian pole vaulter to qualify for the World U20 Championships. In 2024 he then took bronze at the Asian U20 Championships in Dubai with 5.10m.
After that, 2025 became his breakthrough year. He set national records at the National Games and the Federation Cup, and then cleared 5.40m at the World University Games in Germany, where he finished fifth in the final.
Who is Dev Meena beyond the runway? Studies, family and mentors
Off the track, Dev is studying for a Bachelor of Arts at Khalsa College, Amritsar. His biggest sporting inspiration is in the family: his cousin Jay Meena is a soft tennis player who represented India at the Asian Games.
He has also found help in unexpected places. In Nagoya, his own coach was not there, so EJ Obiena’s coach advised him and helped him adjust his pole during the final. Dev told NNIS SPORTS that he still gives the credit to “Ghanshyam Sir”. In addition, the Madhya Pradesh government has brought in Cuban coach Ángel García to work with him.
Away from the runway, Dev Meena is a Bachelor of Arts student at Khalsa College, Amritsar.
Follow Dev Meena on Athletics India
His full stats and results are on Dev Meena’s athlete profile. In addition, the latest Indian marks are on our men’s pole vault page, and all jumps news is in our men’s jumps section.
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