In Glasgow, Sarvesh Kushare, a national record holder, made history by becoming the first Indian to secure a silver medal in the men’s high jump at the Commonwealth Games.
Event Context
The 31-year-old Indian athlete secured a silver medal by clearing a height of 2.25 meters, while Jamaica’s Romaine Beckford won the gold in a thrilling finish late Monday night.
Both Kushare and Beckford were unable to clear 2.28 meters; however, the gold went to Beckford based on countback rules, leaving Kushare with the silver medal. Jack Kimani from England took home the bronze.
Another Indian competitor, Adarsh Ram, placed fifth after clearing 2.15 meters.
Prior to this event, Tejaswin Shankar was the only Indian to have won a medal in high jump, earning a bronze at the 2022 Birmingham Games. Kushare’s silver marks an improvement over that achievement.
Tejaswin also participated on Monday but did not clear 2.05 meters in his first attempt and withdrew as a precaution, preparing for the men’s decathlon set to begin Thursday. At 27 years old, with a personal best of 2.29 meters, he has concentrated more on decathlon competitions over the past two years.
Kushare, who hails from Devargaon village in Nashik district, Maharashtra, practiced high jump using makeshift landing setups crafted from corn husks, cotton, and agricultural waste, thanks to his father who also served as his childhood coach.
Earlier this month, Kushare made history by becoming the first Indian high jumper to reach the podium at a Diamond League event, finishing third in Monaco with a clearance of 2.26 meters and joining an elite group of Indian athletes. He also set a national record of 2.31 meters while winning gold at the National Inter-State Championships in Bhubaneswar last month.
Kushare is now the fourth Indian athlete to secure a top-three finish at a Diamond League event, following the successes of javelin throw champion Neeraj Chopra, long jumper Murali Sreeshankar, and former discus thrower Vikas Gowda.
A late starter, Kushare first competed at the national level at the age of nearly 20 during the 2014 Junior Championships. His first gold came in the 2018 Indian Open, where he jumped 2.24 meters, and he improved to 2.26 meters to win gold in the 2019 edition. In 2022, he raised the bar again to 2.27 meters while clinching gold at the Gujarat National Games.
For two years he didn’t see further improvements until achieving a sixth-place finish with a height of 2.18 meters at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, where he notably became the first Indian to qualify for the men’s high jump final at this prestigious event.
