Sarvesh Kushare, The Low-key Climb and the Science of Mature Longevity

We spend so many years watching or trying to go straight in life that it is a complete paradox that an athlete running in a curve can be so fascinating and a sheer joy to watch. When Sarvesh Anil Kushare cleared the 2.31m bar at The Kalinga in Bhubaneswar at the Inter-State Championships, he brought this physical and philosophical paradox to life. But what’s really exciting isn’t just the historic number on the scoreboard; the question is how high this underrated athlete can climb. At 31, he has reached the age where coaches endlessly debate the trade-offs between biological “ability” and “agility”. Kushare, like a select few before him, may have been a late bloomer, but in an event like the high jump, where raw power and speed don’t dictate success in sprints, middle-distance runs or throws, that late maturity may be just what propels him to the top of the world’s big podiums.

Yet Sarvesh has always been deeply underrated. If you didn’t know him, you simply wouldn’t know him; absolutely not trying to be famous. Stripped of the theatrical clowning and performance art that defines many of his peers, he seems like a jumper in a hurry, as if he needs nothing more than to escape the landing pit. Watch him closely enough on the runway near the landing foam and he seems lonely, alone, almost homeless. At times it is as if they had to drag him from his home only to place him in a pit. Yet this quiet, detached focus is exactly what’s fueling his rise. We humans may strive for straight lines, need a ruler to draw them, and be scolded by teachers at school for not keeping a steady hand. But it’s in mastering the turn and isolation on the top edge or rebound pad that the Kushare redefines the limits of athletic longevity.

There is only so much one can control in the high jump. Life is probably the same. We believe we are in control. After starting from 2.12m, he went around 2.16m, cleared 2.19m on his second attempt. Then 2.22m, 2.25m and 2.27m were effortlessly rejected on his first attempts. Then straight to 2.31m. Jithin Thomas deployed the coach’s ultimate gamble, a psychological gambit designed to completely bypass the mental block by aiming for 2.31m, completely ignoring the then national record of 2.29m or even the incremental comfort of 2.30m. The two attempts went in a flash as gravity prevailed. Did Jithin overdo it? Then, like most things that fall into place at the exact time and place fate decided, Kushare’s 14-step curved run on the third and final attempt produced 2.31m. The national record was gone. The crown belonged to Kushara. He made two exploratory attempts at 2.35m and hoped the moment would widen to embrace him further. Not that. As a pragmatist, Kushare did not attempt a third. The height of 2.31 m was good enough for the moment. The bar could be raised some other time, somewhere else.

WOOOOOOAHHH HOW DID HE DO THAT???

SARVESH KUSHARE BREAKS NATIONAL RECORD IN MEN’S HIGH JUMP – 2.31M

– First India to break the 2.30 m mark pic.twitter.com/NhyeGlMeJU— The Khel India (@TheKhelIndia) June 27, 2026

To understand the quiet, almost melancholic loneliness that Kushare projects in the pit, we have to go back to the 2025 World Cup in Tokyo. It was there, on the biggest, also disturbing, sports stage that Kushare found himself all alone. Due to restrictions and administrative oversight, his coach and manager, Jithin Thomas, stayed behind in India.

For the elite high jumper at most events, the coach isn’t just sitting in the stands; they are a human mirror that captures the flaws in the 14 steps or the subtle concessions in the last three steps. In Tokyo, the stadium stared back at Kushare, an athlete forced to rely solely on his own instincts. Instead of breaking down, he soared to a stunning historic sixth, the best ever by an Indian high jumper at the World Championships, clearing the then personal best of 2.28m. Inside the hot cauldron of the Tokyo National Stadium, Kushare learned to survive and conquer. While his competitors huddled between jumps with top-notch technical support, Kushare sat on the bench, an experience that was both discouraging and rewarding.

At a time when teenagers are rewriting the rules of athletics, American high school phenom Tate Taylor broke the 20-second mark in the 200m; Australian Dna Dna in an incredible 19.67s; or Quincy Wilson ran an amazing 44.20s in the 400m at just 16 years old, and understanding Kushare’s longevity becomes a vital study. Even within India’s borders, youth is growing, an example being Pooja Singh, who cleared a phenomenal 1.93m at the Asian Under-20 Championship.

Still, India’s premier jumper is not about exploding on or over the bar. It’s a noble, almost whispered twist of the torso as Kushare’s body barely disturbs the ozone around it. Traditional high-performance models stubbornly claim that aging degrades the explosive, fast-twitch power necessary to overcome elite heights. However, sports science and biomechanics reveal that high jumping is a cerebral, highly technical discipline that favors coordination and structural leverage over brute physical strength.

Where the younger athlete relies on superior, raw muscle power, he also struggles with microscopically precise jump timing. Through decades of relentless training, adult athletes develop highly refined senses that optimize the take-off angle, usually around 45 degrees, while maximizing the take-off speed, which is between 4.5 and 5.4 meters per second. As a result, an older jumper can achieve the same, if not higher, vertical displacement compared to a younger competitor, replacing youthful strength with wisdom.

THE THRESHOLD OF THREE DECADES

Adult jumpers learned the art of pole clearance. By performing an elastic back arch, the classic Dick Fosbury arch, and strategically lowering the limbs during the flight phase, they achieve clean clearances. This is a great wine of athletic maturity; it’s a skill that ages beautifully.

Kushare’s achievement at the age of 31 is borne out by the rich global history of high jumpers who have found their best place even after crossing the three-decade mark.

Take the mercurial Italian Gianmarco Tamberi. At the age of 31, he won his first outdoor gold medal at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest (2023) by clearing 2.36m. A year later, at the age of 32, he won the European Championships in Rome with an astonishing 2.37m. Tamberi is proof that technical sophistication can beat the biological clock. Gianmarco Tamberi reached the top after thirty (Photo Reuters)

Then there is the master himself, Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim. At 31, Barshim secured his third consecutive World Outdoor Championships gold in Eugene (2022) at 2.37m. At 32, he won bronze in Budapest and won gold at the Asian Games in Hangzhou (2.35m). At 33, he defied gravity once more at the 2024 Paris Olympics to win bronze, clearing 2.34m to become the first high jumper in history to win four Olympic medals.

This trend is spreading across genders and borders. Ukraine’s Andriy Protsenko secured bronze at the World Championships in Eugene at the age of 34. On the women’s side, Spain’s Ruth Beitia remains the ultimate icon of mature longevity; after briefly retiring from the sport, she returned to win Olympic gold at the Rio Games at the ripe old age of 37 when she cleared 1.97m. Ruth Beitia won gold at the Rio Olympics at the age of 37 (Reuters photo)

Even Stefan Holm, one of Jithin Thomas’ favorite high jump deities and the 2004 Olympic champion, defied the physical limitations of age. Standing just 5’11”, Holm relied entirely on precision. Standing at 5’10”, Kushare shares exactly that physical defiance. Because Holm couldn’t rely on natural height, his approach had to be flawless. In the twilight of his career, Holm’s run was rhythmic, quiet, and his will so clinical that he achieved a rare, enduring beauty.

“There is still room for improvement,” insists Jithin Thomas. “More agility, more grueling strength training. You have to step out of your comfort zone. Kushare has to be adventurous.”

Thomas smiles grimly as he remembers the preparation. “Zabardasti nikala hai (I made him leave his comfort zone). I had to tell him army ke tarike se (in strict soldier’s language).”

For years Kushare’s progress was slow. “When he was going for the national record, he was losing control of his run,” explains Thomas. In elite high jumping, the 2.00m or 2.30m marks are not mere measurements; they are psychological barriers. The 2.30m mark is the boundary that separates continental class competitors from those who belong to the world’s elite.

After achieving a personal best of 2.27m in 2022, Kushare spent nearly four years knocking heavily on the door of the 2.30m shrine. The bar became a menace. Thomas noted that whenever the bar rises to that fateful number, Kushare thinks, disrupts his run-up pace and loses acceleration in the last three strides, precisely in the zone where the stroke is critical.

By strategically bypassing 2.30m and jumping straight to 2.31m in Bhubaneswar, Thomas reframed the challenge. The mental relief was immediate. Former national record holder Tejaswin Shankar confirmed this psychological breakthrough, noting that once the 2.30m barrier falls, targets like 2.34m or 2.35m suddenly change from impossible dreams to tangible goals.

INTERNATIONAL THREAT?

Can Sarvesh Kushare follow up his record leap? (Photo by Reuters)

With his breakthrough of 2.31m, Kushare is no longer just an Indian champion; is an international threat. The busy 2026 season offers three distinct arenas in which to test your advanced skills against the world.

On Friday, July 10, 2026, Kushare will make his much-anticipated Diamond League debut at the Meeting Herculis EBS at the Stade Louis II in Monaco. The warm, humid Mediterranean climate and the historically fast track in Monaco, where Tamberi set his Italian record of 2.39m, offer pristine conditions. He will share the pitch with the rebuilt Mutaz Barshim and Italy’s rising star Matteo Sioli. If Kushare can manage the initial rush of Diamond League adrenaline and replicate his J-curve, a clear distance between 2.26m and 2.29m will put him comfortably in the top five of the standings.

Monaco is quickly followed by the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, which take place from 23 July to 2 August 2026. While reigning world and Olympic champion Hamish Kerr of New Zealand remains the heavy favourite, the battle for the remaining medals is wide open. Facing Australia’s Brandon Starc and Joel Baden along with compatriot Adarsh ​​Ram, Kushar’s proven ability to clear 2.31m under heavy pressure makes him a legitimate silver or bronze medal prospect.

However, the ultimate test awaits at the Nagoya/Aichi Asian Games. Kushare, who agonizingly missed the podium when he finished fourth (2.26m) in Hangzhou, while Barshim took gold at 2.35m, Kushare enters Nagoya with some swagger. Armed with his 2.31m clearance, he now has the mental ammunition to look dead in the eyes of Woo Sang-hyeok and South Korea’s Barshima.

“Age 31 is just a number,” Thomas reiterates. “Discipline and determination work at the highest level. Ab jab haath milaliya hai sunna padega (Now that we have shaken hands on this journey, they must listen to me).”

To normalize those heights, Thomas is already forcing Kushare to attempt 2.33m and 2.35m in regular practice, stripping elite heights of their mystique.

From training in makeshift corn husk pits in Deogaon, a quiet village in Maharashtra’s Nashik district, Sarvesh Kushare is India’s “Last Man Standing” in the high jump. If he can keep his rhythm quiet, his torso turning gently over the bar, and his J curve true, he will continue to prove that an athlete’s peak is never dictated by the calendar, but by a timeless, understated search for an understanding of space.

– The end

Issued by:

Akshay Ramesh

Published on:

07 Jul 2026 10:59 IST