National record holder pole vaulter Dev Meena, coach face humiliation; forced to pay to travel with kits

New Delhi: India's national record holder in pole vault Dev Kumar Meena and his coach Ghanshyam were subjected to a humiliating experience at Panvel Railway Station as they were forced to deboard a train after being denied permission to carry their sports equipment.

Initially asked to leave their equipment behind by the Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE), they were allowed entry only after prolonged pleading and payment of a fine, the incident triggering outrage on social media.

The 20-year old Dev, who broke his own national record for the third time at the World University Games in Germany in July 2025 with a jump of 5.40 metres, was returning from the All India Inter-University Championship in Mangaluru along with fellow athlete Kuldeep - who set a meet record - and other teammates.

"We were returning from Mangaluru and had to take a train from Panvel to Bhopal. I went out to have some food while some of the players were sitting near the poles outside the station when the ticket collector asked them to remove the equipment," coach Ghanshyam told PTI Bhasha on Tuesday.

"I went and explained that these were pole vault poles, showed him our participation proof and medals, but he said the equipment should have been sent in the luggage compartment," he said.

Meanwhile the Central Railway CPRO has said that there has never been any intention by any railway personnel to hurt the sentiments of any player.

"We respect players. We had requested them to book the pole in luggage section from Panvel as the dimensions were larger than the permissible limit," the official told PTI.

"Contrary to the allegations made in social media posts, the fact is that the train was re scheduled for late running. There has never been any intention by any railway personnel to hurt the sentiments of any player," he added.

Ghanshyam said that pole vault poles are nearly five metres long and cannot fit into a luggage van without the risk of damage.

"The poles are made of fiberglass and are extremely expensive - one pole costs nearly Rs 2 lakh. With the way luggage is handled, there is a real danger of them breaking. We had six or seven poles with us," he added.

The coach said athletes usually travel in Third AC and carefully place the poles above the fans in sleeper or general compartments so that they do not inconvenience passengers.

"There is also the risk of theft, so we have to keep checking on them. We even showed the ticket collector that the poles were not causing any problem to anyone, but he insisted that we either pay Rs 8,000 or leave the poles at the station," Ghanshyam said.

"I pleaded with him, asking where I would get Rs 8,000 from, and even if we paid, how would the poles be transported?" he added.

In an attempt to resolve the issue, Ghanshyam contacted Olympian Ranjit Maheshwari, a railway sports officer in Mumbai, and his wife V.S. Surekha, herself a former pole vaulter.

"Both of them told the ticket collector not to harass the athletes, saying it would be a huge embarrassment if the matter came out on social media. We even showed a letter from the Madhya Pradesh government's sports department stating that this was sports equipment and permission should be granted for its transportation, but it was ignored," he said.

The athletes missed a train due to the ordeal, and after nearly four to five hours of repeated appeals, they were finally allowed to travel after being charged Rs 1,875 as a fine for transporting 80 kg of equipment - paid from their own pockets.

Ghanshyam, who has completed an international Level-1 coaching course and is pursuing a PhD in Physical Education, termed the incident deeply disappointing.

Asian Under-20 bronze medallist Dev echoed his coach's concerns and called for a permanent solution.

"I am an international athlete, and if this is happening to me in India, one can imagine what junior athletes go through. This is not new," Dev said.

"There should be clear guidelines and a proper system for transporting athletic equipment like poles and javelins, just as there are arrangements for athletes' travel," he added.

"We are not complaining against anyone. Our only request is that an athlete's equipment reaches the competition safely. Athletes and coaches face many challenges and such incidents only disrupt focus and preparation," Dev said.