Sarvesh Koshary. (archive photo)
Sarvesh Kochhar set a new national record in men’s high jump after clearing 2.31 meters at the 65th National Inter-State Athletics Championships at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Friday. The Maharashtrian athlete also became the first Indian high jumper to officially cross the 2.30m mark.The 31-year-old surpassed the previous national record of 2.29 meters set by Tejaswin Shankar on April 27, 2018 in Lubbock. His jump also broke the record of 2.25 metres, set by P Chethan at the 2018 Inter-State National Championships in Guwahati.Kuchar had already crossed the Asian Games qualifying mark of 2.19 metres. He achieved 2.31 meters on his third attempt to set the new national record. He then made two attempts at a height of 2.35 meters but was unable to clear the height.
Adarsh Ram from Tamil Nadu finished second with a distance of 2.25 metres. His efforts also improved the previous meet record and crossed the Asian Games qualification mark. Karnataka’s Jesse Sandesh took third place with a jump of 2.19 metres, matching the qualifying mark.The performance adds another milestone to Kuchar’s career. He represented India at the Paris Olympics and remains one of the country’s regulars in the high jump in domestic and international competitions.
His final effort of 2.31m gave India a new national standard in the event ahead of a busy season that includes the Asian Games.Kuchar also made history at the 2025 World Championships in Athletics in Tokyo. He became the first Indian high jumper to qualify for a World Championships final. He finished sixth with a personal best of 2.28 metres, which remains the best high jump finish by an Indian player in the history of the World Championships.