From Deogang’s corn husk landing pit to India’s best ever CWG men’s high jump score, national record holder Savish Kushara Finally got the big stage medal he had longed for.Deogon is a village near Nashik, far away from the biggest stage of athletics. Yet Kusare has long believed he belonged to an elite. On Monday night in Glasgow, he finally got a medal to prove it.Kushale became the first Indian to win a silver medal in the men’s high jump at the Commonwealth Games with a clearance of 2.25m. Romaine Beckford of Jamaica also ran 2.25m, but exceeded that height on her first try and won the gold medal on countdown. Library sharing requires all three attempts. Neither could clear 2.28m.The Indian took it like a duck to water, smiling confidently before each attempt, displaying a showmanship.Before his final attempt at 2.28m, he looked at the crowd, smiled and put a finger to his lips for silence. He didn’t make it through, but celebrated his hard-earned silver medal in style. “I got a silver medal at 2.25m but that was not my best jump yet. I knew I could jump higher but yesterday was not one of those days. The weather conditions were not too favorable for any of us,” Olympic Gold Quest-backed Kushare told TOI.The national record holder, who began training in his village on a makeshift landing pit filled with corn husks, said the silver coins provided the validation he had long sought. “I’ve always been to big events – I’ve been to the Olympics, World Championships, Diamond League – but I didn’t win a medal there. I knew I belonged in the big leagues, but it didn’t feel good to come back without a medal. I’m glad things have changed in Glasgow. Now I know I can do better,” the Army athlete said.
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Kusharay finished 13th in Group B with a distance of 2.15 million meters and tied for 25th overall. At last year’s World Championships in Tokyo, he became the first Indian male high jumper to reach the finals and finished tied for sixth with a personal best of 2.28m.He has since raised the bar even further. Kushale ran 2.31 million meters in Bhubaneswar last month, breaking Tejaswin Shankar’s eight-year-old national record of 2.29 million meters and becoming the first Indian high jumper to break the 2.3 million meter mark. Kushare believes the CWG medal will inspire him to work harder and make him mentally stronger to face future challenges.In Monday’s final, teammate Tejaswin was forced to withdraw due to knee problems after failing a 2.05m attempt. However, the 2022 Birmingham bronze medalist remained in the pits and guided Kushale until the end of the race.“We had a very good relationship. I was sad when he had to retire, but it was the right decision because continuing would have exacerbated the pain. He has always been there to help me and yesterday was no exception,” Ku shared.
