Record-holder vaulter thrown off train by TTE; video sparks controversy
What's the story
Dev Meena, India's national record holder in men's pole vault, was asked to deboard a train at Panvel station by a Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE). The incident has gone viral on social media, with Meena openly talking about the harassment he faced from the Indian Railways official. Along with him, another top pole vaulter, Kuldeep Yadav, was also allegedly harassed by the same TTE for carrying their poles on board.
Stranded athletes
Meena and Yadav stranded at Panvel station
The duo was on their way back to their base after competing in the All India Inter-University Championships. They were stranded at Panvel station for nearly five hours, trying to convince authorities that the poles were an integral part of their sport. They even offered to pay fines, but all requests were rejected. In a video plea shared by sports platform NNIS, Meena questioned the treatment meted out to athletes like him and wondered what junior athletes might be facing.
Athletic prowess
Meena's record-breaking achievement in pole vault
Meena, a Madhya Pradesh pole vaulter, had broken his own national record with a jump of 5.35m at the National Federation Senior Athletics Championships in April 2025. He had earlier set the national mark at 5.32m during the Uttarakhand National Games in February. The Asian record in men's pole vault is 6m, set by the Philippines's Ernest John Obiena in 2023. The world record is held by Swedish superstar Armand Duplantis at 6.27m.
Twitter Post
Watch the video here
INDIA’S TOP POLE VAULTERS DE-BOARDED & DETAINED FOR CARRYING THEIR POLES 😡
— The Khel India (@TheKhelIndia) January 19, 2026
National record holder Dev Meena and Kuldeep Yadav were de-boarded by railway officials and had to wait 5 hours, simply for carrying their pole
Is this how we treat our athletes? pic.twitter.com/YlMSPZ9hFC