Ranchi, May 24 -- Indian pole vaulting witnessed a landmark evening at the 29th National Senior Athletics Federation Cup as Kuldeep Kumar and Dev Meena produced a thrilling duel to jointly rewrite the men's national record with identical clearances of 5.45m at the Birsa Munda Stadium here on Sunday.

The final turned into one of the standout moments of the competition, with both vaulters repeatedly pushing each other to greater heights in front of an energised crowd in Ranchi.

Kuldeep had entered the event as the national record holder with a mark of 5.41m, but Dev was the first to surpass it during the competition. Meena cleared 5.42m to set a new national record.

The lead, however, changed hands within minutes. Kuldeep responded in st...