From pits of corn husk to national record, Sarvesh Kushare jumps 2.31m
The athlete from Maharashtra jumped 2.31m in his last possible attempt to rewrite the national mark. He also took two attempts at 2.35m but failed to clear the mark
World championship finalist high jumper Sarvesh Kumar broke the eight year old national record of Tejaswin Shankar after jumping 2.31m at the Inter-State National Athletics on Saturday in Bhubaneswar.
The athlete from Maharashtra jumped 2.31m in his last possible attempt to rewrite the national mark. He also took two attempts at 2.35m but failed to clear the mark.
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He started with a mark of 2.16m and easily cruised through the lower heights before clearing 2.27m in first attempt. Later, he attempted 2.31m twice but failed. However, in the last attempt he cleared the bar much to the joy of the crowd cheering for him.
He also breached the Asian Games qualification mark of 2.19m set by the Athletics Federation of India. Aadarsh Ram came second with a 2.27m mark and also qualified for the Asian Games.
One of the most consistent jumpers in India, Sarvesh created history after he finished sixth at the World Athletics Championships 2025 in Tokyo, Japan.
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Start at pits of corn husk
Sarvesh, who hails from the Devargaon village in Nashik with a population of less than 3,000, never had any athlete to look up to from his village.
His father, Anil Kushare had wanted his son to become a civil engineer. “But he was adamant to pursue a career in high jump,” Anil had told The Indian Express during World Championships.
There was a catch, though. There was no proper facility to train in their village. That’s when Jadhav, an enterprising school teacher who had introduced Kushare to the sport, teamed up with Anil to prepare a makeshift pit. They used corn husk, agricultural waste, old unused clothes and cotton. Kushare, then 18, would leap over the bar into the makeshift pit.
Years after his first jump at the pit of corn husk, Sarvesh is one of the best jumpers in India and Asia.
Sarvesh Kumar in action. (Express photo) 
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