India’s Sarvesh Kushare clinched the silver medal in the men’s high jump event at the 2026 Asian Games after clearing 2.25m in the final on Sunday.
Kushare was in contention for the gold for most of the event and cleared 2.10m, 2.14m, 2.18m and 2.22m without trouble. He then faced his first real setback at 2.25m, failing to clear the height on his opening attempt.
Chinese Taipei’s Chao Hsuan-Fu cleared 2.25m on his first try, which moved him ahead of Kushare in the standings. The Indian responded well and cleared the same height on his second attempt to stay in the fight for gold.
Kushare then had three attempts at 2.28m but could not get over the bar. Chao also failed to clear the next height, but his successful first attempt at 2.25m gave him the advantage and secured the gold medal.
South Korea’s Sanghyeok Woo finished third after clearing 2.22m. Kushare’s best effort of 2.25m was enough to give India the silver medal.
The result gave Kushare another major international medal after he finished second at the 2026 Commonwealth Games. It was also a better Asian Games outing for the Indian high jumper compared to the 2022 edition in Hangzhou, where he narrowly missed the podium after clearing 2.26m and finishing fourth.
Kushare had entered the Asian Games after a strong season. He had earlier created history by clearing 2.31m at the National Inter-State Athletics Championships, setting a new Indian record and becoming the first Indian high jumper to clear 2.30m.
Although he could not add the Asian Games gold to his list of achievements, Kushare stayed in medal contention throughout the final and eventually finished with silver.
The medal was part of a productive day for Indian athletics. Ancy Sojan also won silver in the women’s long jump, while Parul Chaudhary secured bronze in the women’s 3000m steeplechase.