Indian Sarvesh Kushala He made a strong first impression at the 2026 Monaco Diamond League, finishing third in the men’s high jump. The 31-year-old ran 2.26m to reach the podium at the Stade Louis II. With this achievement, he became the first Indian athlete to finish in the top three on his Diamond League debut and the fourth Indian athlete to finish in the top three in a Diamond League competition, joining Vikas Gowda, Neeraj Chopra and Murali Sreeshankar.Kushare performed steadily throughout the competition, breaking 2.12m, 2.16m, 2.20m, 2.23m and 2.26m on the first try. Despite three attempts, he failed to clear 2.28m, which placed him in third place. Ukraine’s Oleh Doroshchuk won the event with a throw of 2.32m, while Britain’s Jack Kimani finished second in his Diamond League debut with a throw of 2.30m.Kusare’s podium finish was even more impressive as he finished ahead of several top high jumpers, including Tokyo Olympic gold medalists Gianmarco Tamberg of Italy and Mumtaz Barshim of Qatar, who placed seventh and eighth respectively.The achievement adds to an already breakthrough year for the Indian high jumper. Last month, he set a new national record of 2.31m at the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar, breaking Tejaswin Shankar’s eight-year-old record. Last year, he also became the first Indian high jumper to reach the final of the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.Kushale has also been named in India’s 32-man track and field squad for the 2026 Commonwealth Games and will enter the competition with confidence after an impressive debut in the Diamond League.
