<p>Bengaluru: Baranica Elangovan's continued pole vault dominance at the inaugural Indian Indoor Open combined events & pole vault competition as the <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/tamil-nadu">Tamil Nadu</a> athlete bettered her own national record at 4.23 metres in <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/bhubneswar">Bhubaneswar </a>on Sunday.</p>.<p>The 29-year-old pole vaulter broke the national record (4.22) at the same venue -- Kalinga Indoor Athletics Stadium -- at the inaugural National Indoor Championships this March. Earlier on Day 1, Kuldeep Kumar broke the men's national record with an attempt of 5.41.</p>.<p>"I was sticking with my technique as we are laying the foundation for the long-term goal," Baranica told DH.</p>.<p>"It was important to replicate what I learned in the training and not get into what I did earlier. I feel I executed the technique well, and that's why the result."</p>.<p>Speaking on the fact that she improved on her personal best in the space of just 40 days, Baranica said: "I wanted to stay cool about it as I knew I could do better than what I did here earlier. I have set the bar high for myself at 4.30, that's how you keep challenging yourself and keep pushing for better and better. But as I said, performance wasn't the target here, the technique was."</p>.<p>MP's Nitika Akare took the second spot ahead of Kerala's Blessy Kunjumon (both cleared 3.90) by virtue of fewer attempts. </p>.Indian Indoor Open: Kuldeep Kumar eclipses Dev Meena for new national record.<p>Meanwhile, Kerala's Thowfeeq N, representing NCOE Trivandrum, won the men's heptathlon event with a total score of 5350 points ahead of Army's Usaid Khan (5288) and Odisha's Jashbir Nayak (5250).</p>.<p>Odisha's experienced Purnima Hembram aggregated 3835 points to win the women's pentathlon while Uttarakhand's Isha Chander Prakash (3671) and Bidisha Kundu of <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/west-bengal">West Bengal</a> (3600) occupied the remaining podium places.</p>.<p><strong>Results: Men: Heptathlon:</strong> Thowfeeq N (NCOT) 5350 points, 1; Usaid Khan (Arm) 5288, 2; Jashbir Nayak (Odi) 5250, 3. </p>.<p><strong>Women: Pole vault:</strong> Baranica Elangovan (TN) 4.23m, 1; Nikita Akare (MP) 3.90, 2; Blessy Kunjumon (Ker) 3.90, 3. </p>.<p><strong>Pentathlon:</strong> Purnima Hembram (Odi) 3835 pts, 1; Isha Prakash (Utt) 3671, 2; Bidisha Kundu (WB) 3600, 3. </p>
<p>Bengaluru: Baranica Elangovan's continued pole vault dominance at the inaugural Indian Indoor Open combined events & pole vault competition as the <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/tamil-nadu">Tamil Nadu</a> athlete bettered her own national record at 4.23 metres in <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/bhubneswar">Bhubaneswar </a>on Sunday.</p>.<p>The 29-year-old pole vaulter broke the national record (4.22) at the same venue -- Kalinga Indoor Athletics Stadium -- at the inaugural National Indoor Championships this March. Earlier on Day 1, Kuldeep Kumar broke the men's national record with an attempt of 5.41.</p>.<p>"I was sticking with my technique as we are laying the foundation for the long-term goal," Baranica told DH.</p>.<p>"It was important to replicate what I learned in the training and not get into what I did earlier. I feel I executed the technique well, and that's why the result."</p>.<p>Speaking on the fact that she improved on her personal best in the space of just 40 days, Baranica said: "I wanted to stay cool about it as I knew I could do better than what I did here earlier. I have set the bar high for myself at 4.30, that's how you keep challenging yourself and keep pushing for better and better. But as I said, performance wasn't the target here, the technique was."</p>.<p>MP's Nitika Akare took the second spot ahead of Kerala's Blessy Kunjumon (both cleared 3.90) by virtue of fewer attempts. </p>.Indian Indoor Open: Kuldeep Kumar eclipses Dev Meena for new national record.<p>Meanwhile, Kerala's Thowfeeq N, representing NCOE Trivandrum, won the men's heptathlon event with a total score of 5350 points ahead of Army's Usaid Khan (5288) and Odisha's Jashbir Nayak (5250).</p>.<p>Odisha's experienced Purnima Hembram aggregated 3835 points to win the women's pentathlon while Uttarakhand's Isha Chander Prakash (3671) and Bidisha Kundu of <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/west-bengal">West Bengal</a> (3600) occupied the remaining podium places.</p>.<p><strong>Results: Men: Heptathlon:</strong> Thowfeeq N (NCOT) 5350 points, 1; Usaid Khan (Arm) 5288, 2; Jashbir Nayak (Odi) 5250, 3. </p>.<p><strong>Women: Pole vault:</strong> Baranica Elangovan (TN) 4.23m, 1; Nikita Akare (MP) 3.90, 2; Blessy Kunjumon (Ker) 3.90, 3. </p>.<p><strong>Pentathlon:</strong> Purnima Hembram (Odi) 3835 pts, 1; Isha Prakash (Utt) 3671, 2; Bidisha Kundu (WB) 3600, 3. </p>