Avinash Sable, India's renowned 3000m steeplechase athlete, has emerged with a remarkable fifth-place finish in the men's event at the Diamond League Meeting in Xiamen. This performance has propelled him to qualify for the grand finale of the illustrious athletics event, scheduled to take place in Eugene, USA, later this month. Sable's achievement serves as a remarkable comeback, especially considering his failure to advance to the final round at the World Championships in Hungary just a month ago.
The 28-year-old clocked a time of 8 minutes and 16.27 seconds during the race, a bit off his season's best time of 8:11.63 and his national record of 8:11.20. Olympic and world champion Soufiane El Bakkali from Morocco bagged the first spot, finishing the race in 8:10.31. Samuel Firewu of Ethiopia and Amos Serem of Kenya followed in second and third places, respectively.
Avinash Sable, a silver medallist from the 2022 Commonwealth Games, accumulated four points from the Xiamen race, taking his total tally to 11 points from four events in this season. As a result, he secured the sixth-place ranking, thus guaranteeing his maiden appearance in the Diamond League finals slated for September 16. He will be joining other Indian athletes, like Olympic and world champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra and long jumper Murali Sreeshankar, in this esteemed athletics event.
In the men's triple jump, India's national record holder, Praveen Chithravel, had a less than stellar performance, landing a fifth-place finish with a leap of 16.42m. Abdulla Aboobacker, the reigning Asian champion, ended up in sixth place with a 16.25m jump. Unfortunately, both athletes failed to qualify for the Diamond League finals, finishing ninth and tenth respectively in the overall standings.
Previously this year, Sable had finished 10th in Rabat (Morocco), fifth in Stockholm, and sixth in Silesia (Poland) in Diamond League events. These results demonstrate his consistent improvement and place him among India's rising stars in the world of athletics. As Sable gears up for his upcoming challenge in the Diamond League finals, his journey offers an inspiring tale of resilience and ambition for emerging athletes nationwide.
