“2.35m mark will also fall”. Sarvesh Kushare sets new target after breaking high jump national record More in sports News:

National record holder: Sarvesh Kushare already surpassed the 2.30m mark, but the long jumper says his next target is even higher. After becoming the first Indian to clear 2.30m, Kushare is now looking to win gold in Asian Games and broke the 2.35m barrier.Kushare created history by clearing 2.31m at the National Inter-State Athletics Championships on Saturday, bettering the previous national record of 2.29m set by Tejaswin Shankar.The 31-year-old from Maharashtra became the first Indian high jumper to clear 2.30m. His jump is also the third best performance in the world this season and the best among Asian athletes. He also crossed the Athletics Federation of India’s Asian Games qualification mark of 2.19m.After setting the national record, Kushare attempted 2.35m but failed to clear the height in both attempts.“I will go for gold at the Asian Games and I am confident about it. The 2.35m mark will also fall, may be during the Commonwealth or the Asian Games,” Kushare said after his performance, as quoted by the news agency.This is the second Asian Games in Kushare. He finished fourth at the 2022 Asian Games in China with a jump of 2.26m. He has also been selected in India’s 32-member athletics squad for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, scheduled from July 23 to August 2.Soon after Kushare broke the national record, Tejaswin Shankar posted on social media: “Another mental barrier broken!! 2.30+ may be the end of sticky records. 2.34-35 is just an hour away.”When asked if clearing 2.30m was a mental hurdle, Kushare said, “The height is not easy. But if we prepare accordingly, anything is possible.“Going above 2.30m is very difficult. If we are talking about 2017-18, if Tejaswin didn’t have 2.26m, we wouldn’t have made it first. He did 2.27m then 2.29m, we were also slowly behind. By God’s grace, everything went well and I made it.”Kushare is currently training at the Anju Bobby George Foundation Academy in Bengaluru after earlier training at the Army Sports Institute in Pune.Asked if he had cleared 2.30m during training, he said, “There are practice tests, but not so many good tests like the one I had here. Everything is new and good for me here. It will be fun to compete and break the national record.“But I haven’t tried 2.35m in practice.”