From a corn-husk landing pit in Deogaon to India’s best-ever CWG men’s high jump finish, national record-holder Sarvesh Kushare finally has the big-stage medal he had long sought.Deogaon, a village near Nashik, is a long way from athletics’ biggest stages. Kushare, however, has long believed he belongs among the elite. On Monday night in Glasgow, he finally had the medal to prove it.Kushare became the first Indian to win a silver medal in the men’s high jump at the Commonwealth Games after clearing 2.25m. Jamaica’s Romaine Beckford also cleared 2.25m but took gold on countback, having sailed over the height on his first attempt. Kushare needed all three attempts. Neither could clear 2.28m.The Indian was in his element, smiling confidently and displaying a touch of showmanship before each attempt.Before his final try at 2.28m, he looked towards the crowd, smiled and put a finger to his lips, gesturing for silence. He could not clear the bar but celebrated the hardearned silver in style. “I got silver at 2.25m, but that is not even my best jump. I know I can jump higher, but yesterday was not the day. The weather conditions were not very conducive for any of us,” Kushare, who is supported by Olympic Gold Quest, told TOI .The national record-holder, who began training in his village on a makeshift landing pit filled with corn husks, said the silver provided the validation he had been seeking for a long time. “I have been participating at big-ticket tournaments — I have been to the Olympics, the World Championships, the Diamond League — but I didn’t win a medal there. I know that I belong to the big league, but it was not a good feeling to come back without a medal. I’m happy this has changed in Glasgow. Now I know that I can do better,” the Army athlete said.
At the Paris Olympics in 2024, Kushare finished 13th in Group B and joint 25th overall after clearing 2.15m. At the World Championships in Tokyo last year, he became the first Indian men’s high jumper to reach the final and finished joint sixth with a then personalbest clearance of 2.28m.He has since raised the bar further. Kushare cleared 2.31m in Bhubaneswar last month to break Tejaswin Shankar’s eight-year-old national record of 2.29m and become the first Indian high jumper to breach the 2.30m mark. Kushare believes the CWG medal will spur him to work harder and make him mentally stronger for the challenges ahead.In Monday’s final, teammate Tejaswin was forced to withdraw after one unsuccessful attempt at 2.05m when a knee problem flared up. The Birmingham 2022 bronze medallist, however, remained beside the pit and guided Kushare until the competition ended.“We share a very good bond. I felt bad when he had to retire, but that was the right decision as continuing would have aggravated the pain. He has always been helping me, and it was no different yesterday,” Kushare said.
