CWG 2022: Meet Avinash Sable, the Indian athlete who won silver medal in steeplechase

India's Avinash Sable on Friday bagged a silver medal for the country in the men’s 3000m steeplechase at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Sable settled for the silver after he clocked 8:11.20 to come second – this is his personal best and also a national record. It must be noted that Abraham Kibiwot of Kenya won the gold medal with a time of 8:11.15 and Amos Serum of Kenya came third with 8:16.83

Notably, this is India’s fourth medal in athletics after Tejaswin Shankar’s bronze in high jump, Murali Sreeshankar’s silver in long jump and Priyanka Goswami’s silver in 10,000m race walk.

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Avinash Sable, an army man from Maharashtra admitted in an interview that it is not difficult to break national records. This resolve is the reason why Sable holds three national records in track events - the 3000m steeplechase, 5000m and the half marathon.

Competing in his first Diamond League earlier this year, Sable broke the national record in the 3000m steeplechase and came fifth. At the recently-concluded World Championships in Eugene, though Sable managed his best-ever finish at 11th place, he certainly would not have been impressed with his timing of 8:31.75. 

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On the national level, there is no better steeplechaser than Sable at the moment and it can be argued that he is the best in India. Sable was the first Indian since 1952 to qualify for the steeplechase event at the Olympics. Also, he not only holds the national record in the steeplechase, but he has also, in fact, bettered his own record almost every time he has gone out and raced.