India’s athletics campaign at the Commonwealth Games 2026 got off to a strong start as Sarvesh Kushare won the silver medal in the men’s high jump at Scotstoun Stadium in Glasgow.
Kushare cleared 2.25m before three unsuccessful attempts at 2.28m, finishing second behind Jamaica’s Romaine Beckford, who claimed gold on countback. England’s Kimani Jack took bronze after clearing 2.20m.
The silver capped a breakthrough season for Kushare, who earlier this month became only the fourth Indian athlete to finish on the podium at a Diamond League meeting after placing third in Monaco. He also broke Tejaswin Shankar’s eight-year-old national record with a 2.31m jump at the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships.
India’s para athletics contingent made a strong start, with Sharmila Dhankar winning gold in the women’s shot put F57 with a season-best throw of 9.81m. The victory ended India’s 20-year wait for a para athletics medal at the Commonwealth Games and made Dhankar the country’s first para athletics gold medallist at the event. Shilpa K Shyla added bronze with a personal-best throw of 7.26m.
In the men’s 110m hurdles, Tejas Shirse became the first Indian to qualify for a Commonwealth Games final in the event after clocking 13.76 seconds in the heats. However, he suffered an injury during the final and finished last.
India also enjoyed success in the men’s long jump qualifiers, with Murali Sreeshankar automatically qualifying for the final after a first-attempt leap of 8.01m, while Lokesh Sathyanathan also progressed. National record-holder Gurindervir Singh exited in the 100m heats despite finishing second in his race.
