Overview
- Kushare cleared 2.31 metres at the National Inter-State Championships in Bhubaneswar on Saturday, June 27, to break Tejaswin Shankar’s eight-year national record of 2.29m.
- The 2.31m jump satisfied the Athletics Federation of India’s Asian Games standard and secured Kushare a place on India’s 2026 Asian Games team while he is already named in the Commonwealth Games squad.
- He attempted 2.35m twice after the record jump but failed to clear that height, and he remains focused on improving his personal best.
- Kushare, 31, rose from training in a makeshift corn-husk pit in Devargaon to stints at the Army Sports Institute and the Anju Bobby George Foundation Academy, and he is coached by Jithin Thomas.
- Clearing the 2.30m barrier is seen as a psychological and competitive step for Indian high jumpers and would have been medal-competitive at recent world level, so his mark could raise expectations and prompt more international preparation.