Avinash Sable has broken his own national record for the eighth time in the 3000m steeplechase in the Diamond League meet. He clocked 8 minutes and 12.48 seconds in the race among the best in the world on Sunday. Local contender Sofian El Bakkali won the gold medal with a meet record time of 7:58.28 seconds. He won the gold medal in Tokyo Olympics. Ethiopia’s Lamech Girma finished second with a timing of 7:59.24 seconds.
Rio Olympics 2016 champion and Kenya’s Konssales Kipruto clocked 8:12.47 to finish fourth. Kipruto was ahead of India’s Sable by 100th of a second. Sable finished ahead of Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist and Kenya’s Benjamin Keegan. He took 8 minutes 17.32 seconds.
Avinash is preparing in the USA
Sable is currently preparing for the upcoming World Championships and Commonwealth Games in Colorado, USA. Also, it is said that till the 2024 Olympics, we are taking full care of steeplechase only. Recalling the difficult phase of his career, Sable says that during this time people taunted him. Seniors tortured. Due to excessive workouts, his ankle got hurt. Due to this, he could not play in the 2018 Asian Games.
The Asian Games were followed by the Open National. He had to play it in any condition. He says about this, ‘I was thinking that by doing anything, I have to break the national record in 2 months.’
Sable describes being in the Indian Army as beneficial for himself. He says, ‘I have learned a lot from my training. It is easy to adapt yourself to any kind of situation. In army training, you have to run 5-5 km carrying weapons, carrying your belongings. Accordingly, this race is very easy. I am having a lot of fun too. Sable told in a press conference that while racing for the first time, he did not intend to break any records. He went to participate in a race to get promoted to the army.
Sable considers Indian sports facilities to be the best in the world. He says, ‘I don’t think any country would have given the facilities that India gives to its players. At the same time, about his race, he says, ‘In every race, my competition is with myself. I don’t pay attention to the records of others.