Exclusive: ACL Surgery Couldn't Stop Baranica Elangovan Vaulting Into History With Asian Games Pole Vault Medal
India's Baranica Elangovan entered her name in the record books by winning a historic bronze medal for India in the women's pole vault event at the Asian Games on Friday
India's Baranica Elangovan entered her name in the record books by winning a historic bronze medal for India in the women's pole vault event at the Asian Games on Friday. It was a joint bronze medal for the 29-year-old Baranica and Kazakhstan's Polina Ivanova, as they remained tied with a best clearance of 4.15m each and the same number of failures at 4.25m. It is India's first-ever medal in the pole vault event. After the historic effort, Baranica spoke to NDTV. "I am disappointed that I could not clear 4.25m. I don't have only one favourite athlete. I love watching Mondo Duplantis, Sandi Morris, and also Eliza McCartney from New Zealand," she said.
"Mentally, I prepared myself for the big event. This was my first major international competition. My mindset was to do well. When I started the sport, clearing 3m was good enough to get you into international events. Now, 4m is the benchmark."
She added that she had to overcome injury on her way to glory.
"It was blood, sweat, and tears. I had to undergo ACL surgery, but my coach believed in me," she said.
Misaki Morota of Japan won the gold with a personal-best effort of 4.55m, while China's Chunge Niu bagged the silver with 4.50m.
Baranica's effort was below her personal best of 4.23m but was good enough to secure a podium finish.
"A special leap and an exemplary medal for India! Congratulations to Baranica Elangovan on winning the bronze in the women's pole vault at her Asian Games debut. A proud achievement that will inspire many more young athletes to take up the sport," Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X, congratulating the athlete.
In March this year, Baranica cleared 4.22m at the National Indoor Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar, setting a new national record. She improved her own record to 4.23m at the Indian Indoor Open Combined Events and Pole Vault Competition in May.
She also won gold at this year's 65th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships with an effort of 4.20m.
The pole vaulter from Tamil Nadu suffered an ACL injury in 2020 and went through a challenging period of rehabilitation, after which she moved to the Reliance Foundation High Performance Centre in Bhubaneswar in 2023.
With PTI inputs