Pole Vault Champ Fined Rs 5000, Forced Off Train for Carrying Equipment

To top it, Meena, who holds the national record of 5.40m in men's pole vault, claimed that he, along with fellow athlete Kuldeep Yadav and his coach Ghanshyam Yadav, were humiliated by a Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE), forced out of the train, detained at the station for five hours and made to pay a fine of Rs 5000.

According to reports, the ticket examiner enforced the latest luggage rules of Indian Railways on the athletes' five-meter carbon fiber poles, worth Rs 2 lakh each, and threw them out of the train.

"We were humiliated by the railway official. Despite repeated requests, we received no help and were forced to pay the fine. We tried our best to explain what the pole vault is, but he refused to listen. It was extremely embarrassing. Later, we decided to record a video of the incident. The video went viral, but no action was taken. We have also informed the Sports Minister," Dev Meena told IANS, referring to the incident.

Dev Meena, who set the national record of 5.40m in men's pole vault at the World University Games at Bochum, Germany, in July 2025, urged Indian Railways to allow sports gear with proper charges, warning of the impact on juniors and careers.

"The authorities should issue us an official letter so that such incidents do not happen in the future, and we can present the letter whenever required," said the national record holder in men's pole vault.

This is not the first time that athletes have faced trouble while travelling with their equipment in and out of the country. For years, shooters have faced issues while travelling with their guns and ammunition. Most sportspersons usually try to carry their costly equipment with them, afraid that it could be damaged because of mishandling when checked in at the airplane's cargo hold or loaded in the luggage compartment of a railway train. There have been many complaints regarding this in the past.

- IANS