Sarvesh Kushare finished third at the Diamond League in Monaco. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
He became only the fourth Indian to finish in the top three of a Diamond League event after javelin throw superstar Neeraj Chopra, long jumper Murali Sreeshankar and former discus thrower Vikas Gowda
National record holder Sarvesh Kushare scripted history by becoming the first Indian high jumper to finish on the podium at a Diamond League meet, claiming third place on his debut in Monaco and joining an exclusive four-member club of Indian achievers.
The 31-year-old Kushare sailed over 2.26m to take the third spot in a star-studded field Friday (July 10, 2026) night and grabbed a remarkable personal milestone. He was competing just two weeks after setting a national record of 2.31m while winning gold at the National Inter-State Championships in Bhubaneswar last month.
He became only the fourth Indian to finish in the top three of a Diamond League event after javelin throw superstar Neeraj Chopra (13 times since 2022), long jumper Murali Sreeshankar (once in 2023) and former discus thrower Vikas Gowda (on two occasions in 2015).
Kushare beat some big stars including three-time world champion and Tokyo Olympics gold winners Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar, who finished joint eighth with a 2.20m effort, and Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy and 2023 World Championships silver winner JuVaughn Harrison of the USA, who finished joint fourth.
World leader and world indoor champion Oleh Doroshchuk of Ukraine won the title after clearing 2.32m, while Great Britain’s Jack Kimani was second with 2.30m. Kimani could not clear 2.32m in three attempts while Doroshchuk did it in his first try.
Kimani, whom Kushare is set to face in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games later this month, was unlucky as he could only sail over the 2.16m height in his third attempt while Kushare cleared it with ease.
Son of an onion farmer at Devargaon village in Maharashtra’s Nashik district, Kushare used to practice high jump by using makeshift landing pits made of corn husks, cotton, and agricultural waste, prepared by his father and childhood coach.
A late bloomer, Kushare first took part in a national event when he was nearly 20 at the 2014 Junior Championships. His first national-level gold came in the 2018 Indian Open, where he jumped 2.24m. He improved his mark to 2.26m while winning gold in the 2019 Indian Open.
He raised the bar by one centimeter to 2.27m while winning gold at the 2022 Gujarat National Games. For two years, he could not make any improvement before jumping 2.18m while finishing sixth in the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo. In the process, he also became the first Indian to qualify for the men’s high jump final at the World Championships.
On June 27 this year, Kushare finally broke Tejaswin Shankar’s eight-year-old national record of 2.29m during the National Inter-State Championships in Bhubaneswar with an effort of 2.31m. He became the first Indian high jumper to clear 2.30m.
“I had been getting close to 2.30m and had been thinking about clearing it, but it just wasn’t happening. Now, I went above 2.31m and the 2.35m mark will also fall, may be during the Commonwealth or the Asian Games,” he had said in Bhubaneswar when asked if he can go even higher.
He even went for 2.35m in Bhubaneswar but could not clear the height in three attempts.
“Before 2015-16, no Indian could go above 2.20m; Tejaswin did that, and after that, we also felt that we can do it. So, in the near future I also feel that I can do 2.35m.”
Currently, Kushare sits at joint fourth in the global best jumpers of the season and number one among Asian athletes.
Published – July 11, 2026 11:21 am IST
