From a corn-husk landing pit in Deogaon to India’s best CWG men’s high jump finish, national record-holder Sarvesh Kushare he finally has the big stage medal he has been looking for for so long.Deogaon, a village near Nashik, is far from the biggest stage of athletics. Kushare, however, has long believed that he belongs to the elite. On Monday night in Glasgow, he finally got 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, after sailing high on her first attempt. Kushare requires all three tests. It can’t even clear 2.28m.The Indian was in his element, smiling confidently and displaying a touch of showmanship before each attempt.Before his final attempt at 2.28m, he looked into the crowd, smiled and put a finger to his lips, signaling for silence. He couldn’t clear the bar but celebrated the hard-earned silver style. “I got the silver in 2.25m, but that was not my best jump. I know I can jump higher, but yesterday was not the day. The weather conditions were not very good for any of us,” Kushare, who is supported by the Olympic Gold Quest, told TOI.The national record-holder, who started training in his village in a makeshift landing pit filled with corn husks, said the silver gave him the validation he had been looking for for a long time. “I’ve participated in big ticket tournaments – I’ve been to the Olympics, World Championships, Diamond League – but I didn’t win a medal there. I know I belong to the big league, but it’s not a good feeling to come back without a medal. I’m glad it changed in Glasgow. Now I know I can do better,” the Army athlete said.
At the Paris Olympics in 2024, Kushare finished 13th in Group B and 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 personal best clearance of 2.28m.He raised the bar even higher. Kushare cleared 2.31m in Bhubaneswar last month to break Tejaswin Shankar’s eight-year-old national record of 2.29m and became the first Indian high jumper to break the 2.30m mark. Kushare believes that the CWG medal will motivate him to work hard and make him mentally stronger for future challenges.In Monday’s final, teammate Tejaswin was forced to withdraw after an unsuccessful attempt at 2.05m when a knee problem flared up. The Birmingham 2022 bronze medallist, however, remained pit-side and guided Kushare until the end of the competition.“We share a very good bond. I feel bad when he had to retire, but that was the right decision because continuing would have made the pain worse. He has always helped me, and it was no different yesterday,” said Kushare.