Kushare, Sojan smash national records at Inter-State Athletics meet

Sarvesh Kushare set a new 2.31m men's high jump national record, and Ancy Sojan smashed the 22-year-old women's long jump record with a 6.88m leap at the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar.

Kushare's Record-Breaking Leap

Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Mansukh Mandaviya congratulated the Indian high jumper Sarvesh Kushare after he set a new Indian national high jump record by clearing 2.31m at the 2026 National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar on Saturday, surpassing Tejaswin Shankar's eight-year-old mark of 2.29m, as per Olympics.com. In a post on X, Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya congratulated Kushare for setting a new men's high jump national record and qualifying for the 2026 Asian Games. "A milestone leap for Indian athletics! Congratulations to Sarvesh Anil Kushare on setting a new National Record of 2.31m in the Men's High Jump and securing his qualification for the 2026 Asian Games," he said in an X post. https://x.com/mansukhmandviya/status/2070894711808864564?s=20

Ancy Sojan Smashes Long Jump Record

In another milestone moment for Indian athletics, Keralam long-jumper Ancy Sojan made history, smashing the 22-year-old national record in the discipline owned by legendary Anju Bobby George during the National Inter-State Athletics Championships on Saturday. In the long jump, Ancy, 25, made a sensational leap of 6.88 m, outdoing Anju's long-held national record of 6.83 m, which was made during the 2004 Athens Olympics, as per ESPN.

Other Asian Games Qualifiers

Notably, several athletes like Dev Meena (pole vault men's), Jyothi Yarraji (women's 100 m hurdles), Anushka Yadav (hammer throw women's), and Mohammed Afsal (800 m men's) are among the athletes who have secured an Asian Games spot through their performances at the championships taking place from June 24 to 28 in Kalinga Stadium at Bhubaneswar. (ANI)

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