Sarvesh makes history as first Indian high jumper on Diamond League podium

National record holder Sarvesh Kushare created history on Friday, 10 July by becoming the first Indian high jumper to finish on the podium at a Diamond League meet, securing third place on his debut in Monaco.

The 31-year-old cleared 2.26 metres in a high-quality field to claim the bronze, just two weeks after setting a new national record of 2.31m while winning gold at the National Inter-State Championships in Bhubaneswar.

With the result, Kushare became only the fourth Indian athlete to record a top-three finish at a Diamond League event, joining javelin star Neeraj Chopra, long jumper Murali Sreeshankar and former discus thrower Vikas Gowda.

Kushare finished ahead of several decorated names, including Qatar's three-time world champion and Tokyo Olympic gold medallist Mutaz Essa Barshim, who was joint eighth with 2.20m, and Italy's Gianmarco Tamberi and American JuVaughn Harrison, the 2023 World Championships silver medallist, who were joint fourth.

Ukraine's world indoor champion and current world leader Oleh Doroshchuk won the event with a clearance of 2.32m, while Great Britain's Jack Kimani finished second after clearing 2.30m. Doroshchuk cleared the winning height on his first attempt, while Kimani failed in all three attempts at 2.32m.

Kushare, who is set to meet Kimani again at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow later this month, enjoyed a smoother outing at 2.16m, clearing the height comfortably while the Briton needed all three attempts.

The achievement marks another milestone in the remarkable rise of the Nashik athlete, who grew up in Devargaon village, where his father — an onion farmer and his first coach — fashioned makeshift high-jump landing pits using corn husks, cotton and agricultural waste.

A late entrant to the national circuit, Kushare made his first appearance at a national meet at the 2014 Junior Championships when he was nearly 20. He won his first national title at the 2018 Indian Open with a jump of 2.24m and improved it to 2.26m to retain the title in 2019.

He raised his personal best to 2.27m while winning gold at the 2022 National Games in Gujarat. After two years without improving his mark, Kushare finished sixth at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo with a jump of 2.18m, becoming the first Indian to qualify for the men's high jump final at the event.

On 27 June this year, he rewrote the national record by clearing 2.31m at the National Inter-State Championships in Bhubaneswar, eclipsing Tejaswin Shankar's eight-year-old mark of 2.29m and becoming the first Indian to clear the 2.30m barrier.

"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, maybe during the Commonwealth or the Asian Games," Kushare had said after setting the record.

He also attempted 2.35m in Bhubaneswar but was unable to clear the height. "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."

Kushare currently shares fourth place in the world rankings for the season's best jumps and is the highest-ranked Asian high jumper.

With PTI inputs