At a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is leading India’s bid to host the 2036 Olympics and the country is also set to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games in Ahmedabad, the leading sportspersons of the country were humiliated while travelling in a train at the Panvel Railway Station in Mumbai.
In a video going viral on social media, pole vaulters Dev Meena and Kuldeep Yadav revealed they were forced to deboard a train. The duo were on a train from Mangalore to Bhopal after competing in the All India Inter-University Athletics Championships 2026, when a Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) asked them to deboard the train due to them carrying their pole vaults as luggage. The equipment was identified as luggage, which cannot be carried in a train and is a nuisance to other passengers.
The duo were left stranded at the Panvel station for five hours as repeated pleas made by them were ignored. No heed was also paid to their request to speak to senior officials. Later, Meena and Kuldeep revealed that they had to pay a fine to board another train and were warned that if any passenger complained, they would face more action.
Both opened up about their frustration about the incident and stated that they are not able to travel on flights due to the same reason. They also questioned if international-level athletes are treated this way, what message does it send to aspiring athletes?
“We have been kept waiting here for four to five hours. If this is happening to us, what should I expect for my juniors? If these things are still happening to an international-level athlete in India, what can I say?,” said Dev in an interaction with NNIS Sports.
🚨 India’s top pole vaulter de-boarded and detained: the 5-metre jump and the 5-hour waitPole vault is one of the toughest events in athletics — and travelling with poles makes it even harder.This time, the challenge came from Indian Railways officials.Watch how India’s top… pic.twitter.com/l4Hrmf83jS
— nnis Sports (@nnis_sports) January 19, 2026
“The same problem occurs in flights, the same problem occurs in trains. Where will the athlete go? We need space to travel. Even if it costs us money, we will pay it, but our equipment must be carried properly,” Kuldeep added.
Dev is India’s national record holder in Pole Vault (5.40m) and is close to sealing qualification for the 2026 Asian Games, set to take place later this year in Nagoya. Meanwhile, Kuldeep won the gold medal in the Bengaluru event with a jump of 5.10m.
“Everyone expects us to qualify for the Asian Games. But we have finished the game now. We are just sitting here waiting to see if anyone can help us,” said Meena.
