Sarvesh Kushare third in Monaco Diamond League debut, beats former champions

Indian high jumper Sarvesh Kushare became only the fourth Indian athlete to finish on the podium at a Diamond League. He finished third on his debut at the Monaco Diamond League on Friday, July 10 ater the jumper cleared 2.26 metres. The 31-year-old successfully negotiated 2.12m, 2.16m, 2.20m, 2.23m and 2.26m, clearing each bar with his first attempt. His challenge ended at 2.28m after three unsuccessful efforts.

The result capped a fine season for the Maharashtra athlete who has rapidly established himself amongst the top high jumpers in the world. Last month, late

by clearing 2.31m at the National Inter-State Championships in Bhubaneswar. The effort bettered the previous national mark of 2.29m set eight years ago by Tejaswin Shankar and made Kushare the first Indian to breach the 2.30m mark.

Notably, the feat makes him part of an elite list of Indian athletes to have a top-three finish at a Diamond League event, alongside the likes of Neeraj Chopra, Vikas Gowda and Murali Sreeshankar. The performance also saw Kushare continue to climb the world rankings this season. He came into the Monaco meet as joint world No 4 and the leader of the Asian season after his record-breaking effort in Bhubaneswar.

Competing at the Stade Louis II in Fontvieille, Kushare also finished ahead of joint Tokyo Olympic champions Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy and Mutaz Barshim of Qatar, who finished seventh (2.23m) and eighth (2.20m) respectively.

The podium finish is another positive ahead of two major events later this year, with the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya still to come. Kushare has now furthered his credentials as a serious contender in international high jump having rewritten the national record and now produced a historic Diamond League debut.

Oleh Doroshchuk, from Ukraine, finished as the winner of the category. He cleared 2.32 metres at the Diamond League. Great Britain’s Jack Kimani finished at 2.30 metres to be second on the table.

Oleh Doroshchuk (Ukraine) - 2.32m

Jack Kimani (Great Britain) - 2.30m

Sarvesh Kushare (India) - 2.26m

Romaine Beckford (Jamaica) - 2.23m

JuVaughn Harrison (USA) - 2.23m

Matteo Sioli (Italy) - 2.23m

Gianmarco Tamberi (Italy) - 2.23m

Mutaz Barshim (Qatar) - 2.20m

Erick Portillo (Mexico) - 2.20m

Jan Stefela (Czechia) - 2.20m

Tobias Potye (Germany) - 2.16m