Haryana, November 7: Haryana’s Parshant Singh Kanhaiya broke a 33-year-old National under-20 Pole Vault record in the 35th National Junior Athletics Championships.
The defending champion set the new mark at 5.05m in the same venue where he set under-18 records at 4.75m two years ago. It was third-best jump by an Indian pole vaulter this year behind Siva Subramaniam (5.16m) and KG Jessan (5.10). Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju congratulated Parshant for this remarkable achievement.
Parshant was pushed hard by Rakesh Gond (Maharashtra) whose clearance at 4.90m was his personal best. Yet, as someone who had no-heighted in the Federation Cup for Juniors in Tiruvannamali in end-September, he not only fearlessly went past his personal best of 4.90m achieved in the AFI Grand Prix V in Patiala on August 16 but also sailed over Vijay Pal Singh’s National under-20 mark of 5.00m set in the World Junior Athletics Championships in Athens in July 1986.