A world historian Sarvesh Kushara he has already cleared the 2.30m mark, but the sprinter says his next goal is even higher. After becoming the first Indian to clear 2.30m, Kushare is now looking to win gold in the competition. Asian Games and broke the 2.35m barrier.Kushare created a record by clearing 2.31m at the National Inter-State Athletics Championships on Saturday, bettering the previous record of 2.29m set by Tejaswin Shankar.The 31-year-old from Maharashtra became the first Indian jumper to clear 2.30m. His jump is also the third best in the world this season and the best among Asian athletes. He also crossed the Athletics Federation of India’s Asian Games qualifying mark of 2.19m.After setting the national record, Kushare attempted 2.35m but was unable to clear the height in two attempts.“I will go for gold at the Asian Games and I am confident about it. The mark of 2.35m will fall again, either at the Commonwealth or the Asian Games,” Kushare said after his performance, as quoted by the newspaper agency.This will be Kushare’s second Asian Games. He finished fourth at the 2022 Asian Games in China with a jump of 2.26m. He was also named in India’s 32-member athlete squad for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, which are scheduled from July 23 to August 2.Soon after Kushare broke the world record, Tejaswin Shankar posted on social media: “Another mental barrier broken!! 2.30 + probably the last of the sticky records. 2.34-35 is just a matter of time.”When asked if clearing 2.30m was a mental hurdle, Kushare said, “Hall is not easy. But if our preparation is in line with that, anything is possible.“Going above 2.30m is very difficult. If we talk about 2017-18, Tejaswin didn’t do 2.26m, we wouldn’t have gone ahead. He did 2.27m and then 2.29m, we are also a little behind. By God’s grace, everything was fine and I was able to do it.”Kushare is currently training at the Anju Bobby George Foundation Academy in Bengaluru after previously training at the Army Sports Institute in Pune.When asked if he cleared 2.30m during training, he said, “There were attempts to do, but not as many good attempts as I have now. Everything was new and good for me here. It was fun to compete and break the world record.”“But I’ve never tried 2.35m in practice.”
