BHUBANESWAR — Indian Army athlete Naib Subedar Sarvesh Anil Kushare etched his name into track and field history by setting a phenomenal new national record in the men’s high jump. Competing at the 65th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, the 31-year-old cleared a magnificent height of 2.31 metres on his third attempt. With this milestone leap, Kushare shattered the previous national benchmark of 2.29 metres established in 2018 by New Delhi’s Tejaswin Shankar, comfortably breaching the selection criteria to secure his berth for the upcoming Asian Games in Japan.
The achievement marks a historic psychological breakthrough for Indian athletics, making Kushare the first high jumper from the country to officially cross the legendary 2.30-metre threshold. The Maharashtra-born athlete, who is currently posted at the Artillery Centre in Bengaluru, began his journey in the sport training on makeshift pits made of agricultural waste and corn husks in his native village of Devargaon in Nashik. Since joining the Indian Army in 2016, his steady development has seen him secure an international debut gold at the 2019 South Asian Games in Nepal, a silver medal at the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships, and a historic sixth-place finish at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
Following his record-breaking performance, the Indian Army praised the veteran athlete’s continuous dedication under its Mission Olympics programme, which identifies and nurtures sporting talent across the Armed Forces at the specialized Army Sports Institute in collaboration with the Sports Authority of India. Kushare, whose winning jump also obliterated the existing meet record of 2.25 metres, attempted to clear 2.35 metres during the competition but narrowly missed. Looking ahead to a highly competitive international season that includes both the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the continental showpiece in Japan, the newly crowned national record holder expressed immense confidence that the regional benchmark of 2.35 metres, set by Qatari legend Mutaz Barsham in 2014, remains well within his reach.
