4 months ago
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India's nationalist grounds holder successful rod vault Dev Kumar Meena and his manager Ghanshyam were subjected to a humiliating acquisition astatine Panvel Railway Station arsenic they were forced to deboard a bid aft being denied support to transportation their sports equipment.
Initially asked to permission their instrumentality down by the Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE), they were allowed introduction lone aft prolonged pleading and outgo of a fine, the incidental triggering outrage connected societal media.
The 20-year aged Dev, who broke his ain nationalist grounds for the 3rd clip astatine the World University Games successful Germany successful July 2025 with a leap of 5.40 metres, was returning from the All India Inter-University Championship successful Mangaluru on with chap jock Kuldeep — who acceptable a conscionable grounds — and different teammates.
"We were returning from Mangaluru and had to instrumentality a bid from Panvel to Bhopal. I went retired to person immoderate nutrient portion immoderate of the players were sitting adjacent the poles extracurricular the presumption erstwhile the summons collector asked them to region the equipment," manager Ghanshyam told PTI Bhasha on Tuesday (January 20, 2026).
"I went and explained that these were rod vault poles, showed him our information impervious and medals, but helium said the instrumentality should person been sent successful the luggage compartment," helium said.
Meanwhile the Central Railway CPRO has said that determination has ne'er been immoderate volition by immoderate railway unit to wounded the sentiments of immoderate player.
"We respect players. We had requested them to publication the rod successful luggage conception from Panvel arsenic the dimensions were larger than the permissible limit," the authoritative told PTI.
"Contrary to the allegations made successful societal media posts, the information is that the bid was re-scheduled for precocious running. There has ne'er been immoderate volition by immoderate railway unit to wounded the sentiments of immoderate player," helium added.
Mr. Ghanshyam said that rod vault poles are astir 5 metres agelong and cannot acceptable into a luggage van without the hazard of damage.
"The poles are made of fiberglass and are highly costly — 1 rod costs astir ₹2 lakh. With the mode luggage is handled, determination is simply a existent information of them breaking. We had six oregon 7 poles with us," helium added.
The manager said athletes usually question successful Third AC and cautiously spot the poles supra the fans successful sleeper oregon wide compartments truthful that they bash not inconvenience passengers.
"There is besides the hazard of theft, truthful we person to support checking connected them. We adjacent showed the summons collector that the poles were not causing immoderate occupation to anyone, but helium insisted that we either wage ₹8,000 oregon permission the poles astatine the station," Mr. Ghanshyam said.
"I pleaded with him, asking wherever I would get ₹8,000 from, and adjacent if we paid, however would the poles beryllium transported?" helium added.
In an effort to resoluteness the issue, Mr. Ghanshyam contacted Olympian Ranjit Maheshwari, a railway sports serviceman successful Mumbai, and his woman V.S. Surekha, herself a erstwhile rod vaulter.
"Both of them told the summons collector not to harass the athletes, saying it would beryllium a immense embarrassment if the substance came retired connected societal media. We adjacent showed a missive from the Madhya Pradesh government's sports section stating that this was sports instrumentality and support should beryllium granted for its transportation, but it was ignored," helium said.
The athletes missed a bid owed to the ordeal, and aft astir 4 to 5 hours of repeated appeals, they were yet allowed to question aft being charged ₹1,875 arsenic a good for transporting 80 kg of instrumentality — paid from their ain pockets.
Mr. Ghanshyam, who has completed an planetary Level-1 coaching people and is pursuing a PhD successful Physical Education, termed the incidental profoundly disappointing.
Asian Under-20 bronze medallist Dev echoed his coach's concerns and called for a imperishable solution.
"I americium an planetary athlete, and if this is happening to maine successful India, 1 tin ideate what inferior athletes spell through. This is not new," Dev said.
"There should beryllium wide guidelines and a due strategy for transporting diversion instrumentality similar poles and javelins, conscionable arsenic determination are arrangements for athletes' travel," helium added.
"We are not complaining against anyone. Our lone petition is that an athlete's instrumentality reaches the contention safely. Athletes and coaches look galore challenges and specified incidents lone disrupt absorption and preparation," Dev said.
