Indian Athletics: Sarvesh Kushare’s Historic High Jump Final

Sarvesh Kushare made his name a part of the Indian athletics folklore by becoming the first athlete with an unprecedented sixth-place finish in the men’s high jump final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Tuesday, September 16, 2025.

When the 30-year-old army man of Maharashtra cleared a personal best of 2.28 meters in his third attempt at the bar, he became the first Indian to not only qualify in but also compete in the medal round of this prestigious international event. His result, which fell short of the nationwide record by a single centimetre, has sparked national celebrations and placed Indian field events on the global radar, taking over searches and social feeds three days later on September 20.

Fosbury Flop Glory in Tokyo

Kushare performed the perfect Fosbury Flop technique in the National Stadium, Tokyo, amidst the pressure of 40,000 onlookers and hurled the bar at a height of 2.28m, causing tremors in the stadium. Hamish Kerr of New Zealand won the gold at 2.36m (a championship record), but Kushare came in with the same mark as Tyus Wilson of the USA, and his performance overtook India.

Following a qualification clearance of 2.25m that made him the first to enter the final in thirty years, Kushare cleared the final round, proving the hero of India in the field of high jump, a sport long dominated by javelin and sprinting champions.

From Village to World Stage

With the championships nearing their climax, when Neeraj Chopra will defend with his javelin, the story of Kushare, who had to grow up in corn husk pits in a village in Nashik, but ended up playing in the most significant stage in the world, is the embodiment of the hardship that drives the athletics revival in India. Social media is on fire, with more than 2 million impressions on the trending campaign, and #SarveshKushare turned into one of the viral stories.

Village to Global Leap: The Unimaginable Upgrade of Kushare

The story of Sarvesh Anil Kushare is a Bollywood script of survival. Young Sarvesh grew up in Devargaon village in the Nashik district, where his father was an onion farmer and his dreams were above textbooks. His father dreamed of a degree in civil engineering, but when Kushare was 14, he came across high jump in school sports and was addicted. Without the right facilities, he made do with jugaad – making an improvised pit using sacks of husks of corn and training on any available surface, usually in village fields.

Joining the Indian Army in 2015 brought stability and entry into the Army Sports Institute in Pune, where coach Justin Thomas polished his uncultured talent. Thomas, however, revealed after the final that when Sarvesh came to him in 2022, he was clearing 2.25m regularly, but we examined his technique – the approach, the curve, the plant- so that the surgeons could examine him like a corpse. The reward: a silver at the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships (2.26m), fourth at the Asian Games, and a bruising 25th finish at the 2024 Paris Olympics with an ankle niggle.

Career Milestones of Kushare

2019: Gold at South Asian Games, Kathmandu (2.20m).
2022: Personal best of 2.27m at Gujarat.
2023: Asian Championships (2.26m) Silver; Asian Games Fourth.
2024: 25th in Paris Olympics (2.15m, injured).
2025: Final qualification in the historic worlds (2.25m); PB 2.28m to qualify in sixth place.

Final Breakdown: A Nail Biter of Tokyo

The men’s high jump final was played out like chess with 12 men competing in progressive clearance that began at 2.19m. Kushare systematically dropped lower bars on first attempts and saved his strength for the decisive heights. In 2.28m, which was scarcely less than the auto-qualifying distance of 2.30m, the field narrowed, and the concentration of the Indian increased.

On his third and last attempt, Kushare threw himself back, his long arms touching the bar just to get it flying harmlessly into the pit. The shouting of the crowd and the waving of Indian flags, so rare in an all-European, all-Antipo-Australian occasion, mingled together. He could not achieve 2.31m, retiring in sixth place, but the display was better than his quals and it made critics who asked why he had been picked ahead of Shankar ask questions.

Official Result Table

Athlete          Country   Best clearance   Attempts   Key Note
Hamish Kerr      NZL       2.36m            1st        Championship record; impeccable until gold height.
Sanghyeok Woo    KOR       2.34m            2nd        Silver; excellent recovery after initial misses.
Jan Stefela      CZE       2.31m            1st        Bronze; steady clearances.
...(4th-5th)     Various   2.31m-2.29m      Varies     Tied efforts; European dominance
Sarvesh Kushare  IND       2.28m            3rd        PB; Indian 6th historic; first finalist.
Tyus Wilson      USA       2.28m            3rd        Tied 6th; American depth glitters.

Social Media Pride

As of September 20, the leap by Kushare had already garnered more than 3 million views on platforms, with X (formerly Twitter) taking the lead. The industrialist Anand Mahindra called it a tribute to perseverance, tweeting: “Tokyo podium to corn husks Sarvesh, you have sprung over challenges that we cannot even think of.”

AFI Recap: “Rose to the occasion… 6th with PB 2.28m” – 20K+ likes.
User video: “This is how Gen Z make India proud!!” – 466 likes, 7K views.
Profile post: “Started with jugaad… now a thing of the past” – 15 likes.

Coaching Insights: Technique Over Talent

According to coach Thomas, the credit had to be given to micro-adjustments: “We concentrated on that 0.01m he had been pursuing three years – arm drive, hip rotation.”

His village mentor Jadhav grinned: he had shown me the pit before; I had known he was going to fly. The military discipline (early mornings, hard exercises) introduced by Kushare played the central role, as it incorporated both mental and physical power.

Horizon of Indian Athletics: Outside Javelin Glory

The splash by Kushare was a part of an Indian group of 19 athletes whose fortunes were mixed: Neeraj Chopra will be seeking javelin payback Sunday; Murali Sreeshankar failed in long jump qualification; Parul Chaudhary tripped up in steeplechase. However, the top six of Kushare boost field events, which can be placed on the podium by the 2028 Olympics.

Kushare, through its plot, gives hope as Tokyo 2025 is drawing to a close. It is no end to this, I swore. “Next, we aim higher – literally.” To a country that thrives on varying heroes, Sarvesh Kushare is not only bounding fences, he is taking the leaps of Indian sport to the skies. The hype continues, and perseverance is rewarded in the global arena.