Sable hopes to better his best at Worlds

Laid low by a combination of poor form and injuries, India's premier 3000m steeplechaser Avinash Sable is confident to turn a corner at this year's World Championships in Tokyo (September 13-21).

The 30-year-old met the Worlds qualifying mark of 8:15.00 at last year's Paris Olympics where his 8:14.18 helped him finish eleventh. In the five races since, Sable has failed to come close to the qualification cut-off with his season's best of 8:20.92 being significantly off his personal best (8:09.91) which he achieved in Paris a month before the qualification window for the Worlds opened.

Currently training at Sports Authority of India's Bengaluru campus, the armyman said he had been carrying a niggle in his right hamstring and calf since the 2023 Asian Games where he secured gold with a time of 8:19.50.

"It used to hurt while running, which greatly affected my performance. I couldn't do well at the Olympics and the injury bothered me at the twin Diamond League meets this season," Sable said, referring to his outings in Xiamen and Shanghai in April-May.

While Xiamen was his season opener where he ran 8:22.59 to finish 13th among 16 finishers, Shanghai saw him clock 8:23.85 for an eighth-place result.

"I participated in two Diamond League events in China despite the injuries, and the results were not great. I thought of opting out of those competitions but didn't because I did not want to run away from the challenge," he said.

Sable then entered the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea "to boost my confidence" and won the event with a time of 8:20.92. It's still way off the world standard or even his own personal best, but for Sable, it's all about a slow and steady build-up for the Worlds.

Sable had a forgettable outing in his last appearance at the World Championships two years back when he crashed out of the heats with a time of 8:22.24. This time, he wants to get close to breaching the 8-minute barrier.