Nagoya: India’s Sarvesh Kushare clinched the silver medal in the men’s high jump, while Parul Chaudhary secured bronze in the women’s 3000m steeplechase at the Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium during the ongoing Asian Games 2026 on Sunday.
Kushare finished on the podium with a best jump of 2.25m, matching gold medallist Chao Hsuan-Fu of Chinese Taipei. However, Chao cleared the height in his first attempt, while Sarvesh needed two attempts. Republic of Korea’s Sanghyeok Woo won the bronze medal with a jump of 2.22m.
Sarvesh began the competition strongly, clearing 2.10m in his first attempt. He maintained his momentum by clearing 2.14m, 2.18m and 2.22m on his first attempts, keeping himself in the top positions for a long period.
Chao, who needed two attempts to clear 2.18m, then produced his season-best performance by clearing 2.25m on his first attempt to move into the lead.
With both athletes clearing 2.25m, the contest went down to 2.28m. However, neither athlete could clear the height despite three attempts, allowing Chao to finish on top and claim the gold, while Kushare settled for silver.
In the women’s 3000m steeplechase, experienced Indian athlete Parul Chaudhary bounced back from her fourth-place finish in the 1500m to produce a strong performance and secure the bronze medal.
Parul clocked 9:08.67, smashing her own national record and becoming the first Indian woman to go below the 9:10 mark in the event.
She stayed with the leading group from the beginning and was in contention for silver around the halfway stage. However, she could not maintain her position and finished 2.46 seconds behind Kazakhstan’s Norah Tanui, who won silver in 9:06.82.
Bahrain’s Yavi Winfred claimed gold in a games-record time of 9:04.36. India’s other entrant, Ankita, finished fourth with a timing of 9:19.24.
The bronze is Parul’s third Asian Games medal. She had earlier won gold in the 5000 m and silver in the 3000 m steeplechase at the Hangzhou Games in 2022.
(IANS)
