Former Asian champion Abdulla Aboobacker clinched the men’s triple jump title at the Indian Open Jumps Competition 2026 in Bengaluru, edging national record holder Praveen Chithravel in a closely contested event.
Competing at the Anju Bobby High Performance Centre, Aboobacker recorded a winning jump of 16.83m on his third attempt to secure the gold medal.
Chithravel, the Asian Games bronze medallist and holder of the Indian national record (17.37m), finished second with a best effort of 16.78m after opening with a 16.59m leap. Gailey Venister claimed bronze with 16.48m.
The contest marked the eighth head-to-head meeting between Aboobacker and Chithravel since the Federation Cup Athletics Championships in 2021. Chithravel has finished ahead in six of those meetings.
Dev Meena wins pole vault title
In the men’s pole vault, Dev Meena won the title after clearing 5.25m. After two failed attempts at 5.35m, Meena opted to attempt the national record height of 5.41m but was unable to clear the bar.
Meena currently holds the Indian national record with a 5.40m jump achieved at the World University Games last year.
Kuldeep Kumar also cleared 5.25m but settled for silver on countback, while M Gowtham took bronze with 5.10m.
Paris 2024 Olympian Sarvesh Kushare won the men’s high jump event with a clearance of 2.16m, marking his first competition of the year.
Aditya Raghuvanshi and Swadhin Kumar Majhi both cleared 2.13m to finish second and third respectively.
The Indian national record in men’s high jump is held by Tejaswin Shankar, who cleared 2.29m in Texas in 2018.
The opening day also featured the women’s triple jump event, where Mallala Anusha secured gold with 13.18m. Aleena T Saji finished second with 13.12m, while Nimisha Dayma claimed bronze with 13.08m.
The Indian Open Jumps Competition will conclude at the same venue in Bengaluru on Sunday.
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