India’s Pooja saw her campaign in the women’s high jump final at the Commonwealth Games 2026 come to an end after failing to clear 1.82m in difficult weather conditions in Glasgow.

Competing in persistent rain, strong winds and chilly temperatures, the 19-year-old produced a determined display to negotiate the opening heights. She cleared 1.72m comfortably before going over 1.77m on her second attempt, keeping herself in contention despite the challenging conditions.

However, 1.82m proved elusive, ending her competition on a night when the weather tested every athlete in the field.

The progression of heights in the final was:
1.72m, 1.77m, 1.82m, 1.87m, 1.90m, 1.93m, 1.96m, 1.99m and 2.02m.

The wet and windy conditions made the competition particularly demanding. Between attempts, Pooja could be seen immediately putting on her cap and warm clothing to prevent her muscles from cooling down before her next jump.

She was assisted throughout the competition by Yoandri Betanzos, the World Championships triple jump silver medallist and JSW’s foreign jumps expert, who worked closely with her during the final.

At just 19 years old, Pooja was the youngest competitor in the women’s high jump final, gaining valuable experience on one of the biggest stages in international athletics.

She arrived in Glasgow after a breakthrough season in which she rewrote the Indian record books, clearing 1.93m to set a new national record and establish herself among Asia’s leading high jumpers.

Her achievements over the past year include:

The consistent performances have underlined her reputation as one of India’s brightest young athletics talents.

Eugene Next

There is little time to reflect on her Commonwealth Games outing.

Pooja will now travel directly to Eugene, USA, where she will represent India at the World Athletics U20 Championships 2026. After a remarkable season highlighted by her national record of 1.93m, she will look to carry that form onto the global junior stage.

Although the Glasgow final did not produce the result she had hoped for, the experience of competing against senior international opposition in difficult conditions adds another important chapter to the development of one of India’s most promising field athletes.

 

By Sundeep Misra

At 2.25 metres, two jumps binned, it seemed curtains for Sarvesh Kushare. Up to that point, every mark had been cleared in a single, fluid rush of air. Then came the third attempt. Kushare sailed, the bar trembled on its pegs, and the few diehard Indian fans suffocated on their own breath. Then, a collective exhale – the bar held. ​The bar moved to 2.28m.

Three men remained: a Brit, a Jamaican, and an Indian. Decades ago, long before the Commonwealth found its modern sporting identity, the podium hierarchy would have been pre-written. Not this time. England’s Kimani Jack faded after two misses, settling for bronze. Jamaica’s Romaine Beckford and Kushare both hit a wall at 2.28m, failing to clear.

Sarvesh had the final jump of the competition, but the gold slipped through his fingers. It came down to the painful arithmetic of countback: Beckford had cleared 2.25m on his first try, Sarvesh on his third. That single aberration, call it an error, cost him the top step. ​Silver, though, was a triumph and the story behind it ran deeper than the result sheet. ​Earlier in the evening, Tejaswin Shankar (TJ) had withdrawn from the event leaving open the tantalizing question of what a fully fit TJ might have achieved alongside him. But instead of retreating to the warm-up track or the quiet of the athlete’s lounge, TJ stayed.

He sat on the athlete’s bench at the edge of the apron, refusing to leave Kushare’s side. ​Between every run-up, as the stadium light flickered and the cold evening breeze swirled across the pit, the two exchanged tips. TJ wasn’t just offering empty encouragement; the former national record holder was watching and dissecting the jumps. Stride adjustments, angle of Sarvesh’s plant foot would have been scanned and corrections made. High jump is a solitary discipline; one athlete, a crossbar, and the sky.

TJ and Sarvesh made it a team event. Silver was secured not just on pure adrenaline but on a shared brotherhood forged under the floodlights.

For more visit Commonwealth Games 2026

There are medals that are won on the field. And then there are moments that remind us why sport means so much beyond the podium.

Moments after winning India’s silver medal in the men’s high jump at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, Sarvesh Kushare wasn’t talking about his career-best performance or how narrowly he had missed out on gold.

Instead, he spoke about a teammate.

“Tejaswin supported me a lot today.”

Kushare had just cleared 2.25m, matching Jamaica’s Romaine Beckford, only to lose the gold on countback after requiring three attempts at the height. It was the finest Commonwealth Games performance of his career.

Yet his first instinct was to thank Tejaswin Shankar.

Earlier in the evening, Shankar’s own campaign had ended in heartbreak.

The defending Commonwealth bronze medallist was unable to clear his opening height of 2.05m and withdrew from the competition. It was a painful exit for one of India’s most accomplished high jumpers, who later admitted the disappointment still hurt.

“It’s one of those things that really stings.”

The emotion was evident as he spoke to the media. Few understand better than elite athletes how years of preparation can unravel in a matter of minutes.

But rather than retreat after his own disappointment, Shankar chose to stay.

He remained by the high jump pit for the rest of the competition, cheering every successful attempt by his Indian teammates. Every clearance by Sarvesh Kushare and Aadarsh Ram was met with encouragement from a teammate who, despite seeing his own medal hopes disappear, never stopped believing in theirs.

That support did not go unnoticed.

When Sarvesh stood on the podium with a Commonwealth silver medal around his neck, he made sure the world knew who had helped him get there.

It was a reminder that athletics is often portrayed as an individual sport, but behind every athlete is a network of coaches, family and teammates who celebrate every success and shoulder every disappointment together.

Shankar’s Commonwealth Games journey is not over. He is set to return to competition when the decathlon begins on 30 July, carrying with him not just the disappointment of the high jump, but also the admiration of teammates who witnessed his character in defeat.

For Sarvesh, the silver medal will always be remembered as the night he came within a countback of Commonwealth gold.

For many watching, it will also be remembered as the night one Indian athlete’s heartbreak became another Indian athlete’s strength.

India’s Aadarsh Ram produced a creditable performance to finish fifth in the men’s high jump final at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, clearing a best height of 2.15m.

Competing in his first Commonwealth Games final, the Indian high jumper made a confident start to the competition, clearing 2.10m at the first attempt before successfully negotiating 2.15m, again on his first try.

The bar was then raised to 2.20m, where Aadarsh fought hard but was unable to clear the height despite three determined attempts, bringing his campaign to an end.

His best clearance of 2.15m was enough to secure fifth place in a high-quality field that featured some of the Commonwealth’s top jumpers.

The performance capped an encouraging outing for the young Indian, who held his own on one of the biggest stages in the sport and gained valuable experience at the elite level.

India enjoyed a memorable evening in the men’s high jump, with Sarvesh Kushare claiming the silver medal after clearing 2.25m, while Aadarsh’s top-five finish underlined the growing depth in Indian high jumping.

Although he narrowly missed out on the podium, Aadarsh leaves Glasgow with a Commonwealth Games final appearance and another important step forward in his international career.

So close to gold. So proud in silver.

India’s Sarvesh Kushare produced the performance of his career to win the silver medal in the men’s high jump at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, clearing 2.25m to stand on the Commonwealth podium for the first time.

In a gripping contest, Kushare matched Jamaica’s Romaine Beckford clearance for clearance, with both athletes successfully negotiating 2.25m. The gold medal, however, was decided not by height, but by the narrowest of margins—the countback rule.

Beckford cleared 2.25m on his first attempt, while Kushare needed all three attempts to get over the bar. With both athletes failing at the next height, that single difference proved decisive, handing the Jamaican the gold and leaving the Indian with silver.

Final Standings
🥇 Romaine Beckford (Jamaica) – 2.25m
🥈 Sarvesh Kushare (India) – 2.25m
🥉 Kimani Jack (England) – 2.20m

For Kushare, though, this was a performance that announced India’s growing stature in the high jump. The national record holder refused to be overawed by the occasion, matching one of the world’s best jumpers and forcing the competition to be settled on countback.

The silver medal is richly deserved reward for years of perseverance and consistency. On a night when just one first-time clearance separated gold from silver, Sarvesh proved he belongs among the Commonwealth’s elite.

It may not have been the colour he dreamed of, but the way he fought for every centimetre made this one of India’s standout performances of the Games.

India’s national record holder Tejas Shirse finished eighth in the men’s 110m hurdles final at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, clocking 15.39 seconds in a race that ended on a worrying note for the Indian hurdler.

Shirse appeared to be in visible discomfort after clearing the final hurdle and crossing the finish line. The exact nature of the issue was not immediately known, though the incident raised concerns after what had been an encouraging comeback season for the 22-year-old. The Indian athletics fraternity will be hoping the injury is not serious.

The Maharashtra hurdler had qualified for the final earlier in the day by finishing third in his heat with a time of 13.76 seconds, earning an automatic qualification berth.

His appearance in the Commonwealth Games final capped a remarkable return after a lengthy injury layoff. Earlier this season, Shirse announced his comeback in style by clocking 13.27 seconds, breaking the long-standing Indian national record in the men’s 110m hurdles and securing qualification for Glasgow.

That performance established him as India’s fastest-ever sprint hurdler and marked one of the standout moments of the domestic athletics season.

Although the Commonwealth Games final did not unfold as he would have hoped, merely returning from a prolonged injury absence to reach a major championship final represents a significant milestone in his journey.

With age on his side and the national record already in his possession, Shirse remains one of the brightest prospects in Indian athletics. Attention will now turn to his recovery, with hopes that the setback in Glasgow proves to be only a temporary interruption to an otherwise promising season.

India’s Murali Sreeshankar continued his remarkable consistency in 2026 by qualifying for the men’s long jump final at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, comfortably clearing the automatic qualification mark with his very first jump.

The defending Commonwealth Games silver medallist needed just one attempt, soaring to 8.01m in still conditions (0.0 m/s wind) to breach the 8.00m automatic qualification standard and secure his place in the medal round.

The effort saw Sreeshankar finish third overall in the qualification standings, reinforcing his status as one of the leading contenders for a podium finish.

The qualification performance is the latest in what has been an outstanding season for the Indian long jumper. Sreeshankar has crossed the eight-metre barrier in every competition he has contested this year, underlining both his consistency and world-class form.

His performances in 2026 include:

The highlight of his campaign remains the 8.38m leap at the National Inter-State Championships, one of the finest performances by an Indian long jumper and a statement ahead of the Commonwealth Games.

Having won silver at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, Sreeshankar arrived in Glasgow as one of India’s strongest medal hopes in athletics. His composed qualification performance, achieved with minimal effort, suggests he has timed his preparations well for the final.

With qualification secured at the first opportunity, the focus now shifts to the medal round, where Sreeshankar will look to build on his exceptional season and improve upon the silver medal he claimed four years ago.

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Indian athletics is officially entering its main character era. For the first time in history, two Indian athletes are pulling up to represent the country in the men’s pole vault at the Commonwealth Games. Dev Meena from Madhya Pradesh and Kuldeep Yadav from Uttar Pradesh have both secured their spots for CWG 2026, and honestly? They’re about to rewrite the history books.

What makes this lore even crazier is that they’re basically training twins. Both vaulters train under the same mastermind coach, Ghanshyam Yadav, at the state-sponsored DSWY academy at TT Nagar, Bhopal.

But let’s be real—their road to qualification was a whole survival arc. Until last year, India’s national record in men’s pole vault was capped at a modest 5.31m. Enter 20-year-old Dev Meena, who absolutely understood the assignment at the National Games 2025 by clearing 5.32m. He didn’t just break the record and call it a day, though. Dev went on an absolute rampage, breaking the national record five times in a row before flexing a 5.46m clearance—which is currently the top-tier flex for Indian athletics.

Meanwhile, Kuldeep Yadav’s arc was all about the ultimate comeback. He’d been fighting a long battle with injuries before linking up with Ghanshyam’s squad last year. The glow-up? Insane. Kuldeep came into 2026 with a former personal best of 5.15m, instantly upgraded to 5.25m, and then casually smashed the national record with a 5.41m vault. Not stopping there, he pushed it to 5.45m, easily surpassing the CWG qualification bar.

Unpacking the dynamic of his star pupils, Ghanshyam Yadav said, “They are both very good athletes, very hardworking, good training partners during practice, and great competitors against each other in competition.”

When asked how he keeps the peace between two elite athletes constantly trying to out-flex each other, Ghanshyam dropped his secret recipe with a smile: “I give them individual targets. I speak to both of them separately before competitions and tell each of them, ‘Today is your day. You have to break the national record.’ Neither athlete knows that I’ve given the same target to the other. If they ever find out, it might become a problem for me,” he said with a laugh.

Fun fact: Coach Ghanshyam is a former pole vaulter himself, so he knows the vibes inside out.

The duo will be jumping into action on July 30 for the men’s pole vault qualification round in Glasgow. If they clear the hype, they’ll be vaulting for actual CWG medals on August 1.

Dev and Kuldeep are bringing fresh personal bests of 5.46m and 5.45m to the table, but Glasgow is going to be a total boss fight. Looking at this season’s global stats, the Indian duo currently ranks fourth and fifth among qualified CWG athletes. Australia’s Kurtis Marschall is leading the pack with a massive 6.00m flex, followed by Great Britain’s Owen Heard (5.71m) and South Africa’s Kyle Rademeyer (5.60m).

Addressing the heavy competition, Ghanshyam isn’t sweating it: “Yes, the field is tough, but you have to understand that we are here to make a way, not follow one. Competing against stronger athletes will only make both of them better. They are regular 5.50m athletes, and I have full confidence they will give their best. I believe they are medal contenders, without a doubt.”

However, one major plot hole in India’s CWG setup is that no dedicated pole vault specialist or support staff was included in the official contingent traveling for the event.

Reacting to the gatekeeping, Ghanshyam said, “Yes, they haven’t included anyone specifically for pole vault. It will be tough because pole vault is a completely different event.”

He added, “I showed them the performances of the athletes they will be competing against, including the vaulter from Australia who has cleared 6.00m this season.”

Talking about the lack of high-level domestic meets to lock in practice, Ghanshyam noted, “Yes, they are struggling because there isn’t enough competition at the national level. After the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games, our sole focus will shift towards the 2028 Olympics. I know the qualification mark of 5.83m is tough, but it’s not impossible. I’m planning to send both athletes to more competitions outside India. If they regularly compete against athletes clearing 5.70m or 5.80m, it will give them more confidence and will certainly help improve their performances.”

For more visit Commonwealth Games 2026

 

India will once again field a formidable pair in the men’s triple jump at the Commonwealth Games 2026, with Praveen Chithravel and Selva Prabhu carrying the nation’s hopes in an event where Indian athletes have enjoyed considerable success in recent years.

Both jumpers arrive in Glasgow in outstanding form after producing career-best performances during the 2026 season. Praveen Chithravel has recorded a season-best of 17.08m, while Selva Prabhu has followed closely with 17.05m. These marks rank them third and fourth, respectively, among athletes selected for the Commonwealth Games, placing both firmly in medal contention.

The season rankings among selected Commonwealth athletes are headed by Jordan Scott of Jamaica, who has produced an impressive 17.69m. Praveen occupies the third spot with 17.08m, narrowly ahead of Selva’s 17.05m. Kenya’s Kevin Kemboi follows with 16.84m, while Kelsey Daniel of Trinidad and Tobago rounds out the leading contenders with 16.68m.

India has fond memories of the men’s triple jump at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, where the country celebrated a historic gold and silver medal finish. Eldhose Paul claimed the title with a wind-assisted 17.03m, while Praveen Chithravel narrowly missed the podium after finishing fourth despite a spirited campaign.

Four years later, Praveen returns to the Commonwealth Games as a far more experienced athlete and one of the leading contenders for a medal. Alongside him, Selva Prabhu has enjoyed a breakthrough season that has elevated him into the top tier of Commonwealth jumpers, giving India two realistic podium prospects.

With the third and fourth-best season’s performances among the selected Commonwealth competitors, India heads to Glasgow with genuine optimism in the men’s triple jump. If Praveen and Selva reproduce their best form on the day, they have every opportunity to continue India’s proud tradition in the event and challenge for medals on the Commonwealth stage.

 

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India will have two exciting young athletes in the men’s pole vault at the Commonwealth Games 2026, with Dev Kumar Meena and Kuldeep Kumar set to represent the country in an event that has witnessed remarkable progress for Indian athletics this season.

Both vaulters have enjoyed breakthrough campaigns in 2026, producing career-best performances that have elevated them among the leading Commonwealth competitors. Dev Kumar Meena enters the Games with a lifetime best of 5.46m, while Kuldeep Kumar has cleared 5.45m, placing them eighth and ninth, respectively, among athletes selected for the Commonwealth Games.

The season rankings among selected Commonwealth athletes are led by Australia’s Kurtis Marschall, who has produced a world-class clearance of 6.00m. Great Britain’s Owen Heard follows with 5.71m, while Kyle Rademeyer of South Africa occupies third with 5.60m. Dev and Kuldeep are the next two athletes on the list, highlighting India’s growing competitiveness in the discipline.

The rise of the Indian duo has been one of the standout stories of the domestic athletics season. Dev and Kuldeep have both achieved lifetime bests and consistently raised the standard of men’s pole vault in the country through a series of outstanding performances.

Their achievements extend beyond individual milestones. Together, Dev Kumar Meena and Kuldeep Kumar have broken the Indian men’s pole vault national record at least three times this season, reflecting the intense competition between the pair and the rapid development of the event in India. Their performances have helped redefine national standards and signalled a new era for Indian pole vaulting.

Although the Commonwealth field features established international competitors, Dev and Kuldeep have shown that they are capable of competing at a high level. Their consistent improvement throughout the season gives India genuine reason for optimism as they prepare for Glasgow.

With two in-form vaulters ranked among the Commonwealth’s leading selected athletes, India heads into the Games with growing confidence that Dev Kumar Meena and Kuldeep Kumar can continue their impressive rise on the international stage.