National record holder Sarvesh Kushare scripted history as he became the first Indian to win a silver medal in the men’s high jump event of the Commonwealth Games, losing the gold by the narrowest of margins in an enthralling showdown with Jamaica’s Romaine Beckford.
After sailing over 2.25m, both the 31-year-old Kushare and Beckford failed to clear the 2.28m mark. But the Jamaican took the gold as he had one less failed attempt than the Indian on count-back. The bronze went to Jack Kimani (2.20m) of England.
The other Indian in the fray, Adarsh Ram, finished fifth with 2.15m.
Before Monday, Tejaswin Shankar was the lone Indian to have won a high jump medal — a bronze in the 2022 Birmingham Games. But Kushare bettered it with his silver. It was Kushare’s first medal in the CWG and that too on debut.
Tejaswin also competed on Monday and retired after failing to clear 2.05m in his first attempt. The move was a precautionary measure for Tejaswin as he is competing in the men’s decathlon starting on Thursday.
The 27-year-old, who has a personal best of 2.29m, has not competed in too many individual high jump events in the last two years as he has been focussing on decathlon.
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.
“It’s my first medal, also my first medal at a major event. Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games are the Games that push for the Olympics. I want to win a medal. I will do my best,” Kushare told PTI after his event.
“I want to win a gold medal at the Asian Games.”
Asked what was going through his mind before his final two jumps, he said: “I wanted to do every jump in the first chance. It was a good experience.”
On Tejaswin giving him tips inside the throwing arena, Kushare said, “Let the player be in the role. He is a good player. We will do more competitions. We will do our best.”
Earlier this month, 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.
He had cleared 2.26m to take the third spot in a star-studded field and grabbed a remarkable personal milestone. He had set a national record of 2.31m while winning gold at the National Inter-State Championships in Bhubaneswar last month.
He was the fourth Indian to finish in 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).
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 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 on way to a 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.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Kushare for his performance.
“A spectacular Silver for Sarvesh Kushare in Men’s High Jump at #CWG2026! His determination and consistency have been noteworthy. Congratulations to him on this outstanding achievement. India is proud of him. Wishing him many more successes ahead,” he posted on X.