Overview
- National record holder Dev Meena and fellow vaulter Kuldeep Yadav were told by a Travelling Ticket Examiner to deboard at Panvel after their long poles were deemed unauthorised luggage.
- The athletes say they were stranded for nearly five hours as requests to speak to senior officials and offers to pay a penalty were refused.
- NNIS Sports posted video of the exchange that quickly drew wide attention and criticism from the athletics community and the public.
- Meena holds India’s men’s pole vault record at 5.35m, while Yadav recently won the All India University title with a meet record, underscoring their elite status.
- The Railway Seva support account replied on X that the issue was escalated to concerned officials, with no broader policy clarification reported.