Sportstar Aces 2023, Popular Choice: Sable breaking Kenyan dominance in steeplechase in CWG nominated for ‘Moment of the Year’ award

Sable finally ended the Kenyan hegemony in the men’s 3,000m steeplechase at the Commonwealth Games, the East African nation had monopolised the CWG podium since 1988.

Abraham Kibiwot, of Kenya, right, leads Avinash Mukund Sable, left, of India in the men’s 3000 metre steeplechase final at CWG 2022. | Photo Credit: ALASTAIR GRANT/AP/PTI

Avinash Sable’s Commonwealth Games silver medal-winning performance has been nominated for the ‘Popular Choice - Moment of the Year’ award for the upcoming Aces Awards 2023.

Sable finally ended the Kenyan hegemony in the men’s 3,000m steeplechase at the Commonwealth Games – the East African nation had monopolised the CWG podium since 1988 – to win a silver medal with a time of 8:11.20 at the Alexander Stadium.

Sable, who has been on a national record-breaking spree since the Federation Cup in March 2019, bettered his best performance for the ninth time, improving on his 8:12.48 achieved at the Rabat Diamond League in June this year.

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Sable, separated from gold medal winner - Kenya’s Abraham Kibiwot - by five microseconds, was disappointed at missing out on the chance to be at the top of the podium and hear the national anthem.

One of the most endearing images from CWG 2022 will be of Sable, with the whole crowd behind him, nearly beating Kibiwot for the gold.

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ACES AWARDS 2023

There are 27 categories of awards this year – five Popular Choice and 22 Jury awards.

The five Popular Choice awards are Sportsman of the Year, Sportswoman of the Year, National Team of the Year, Club Team of the Year and Sporting Moment of the Year.

The Jury awards are Sportsman of the Year (Cricket, Racquet Sports, Individual Sports, Track and Field, Team Sports, Parasports), Sportswoman of the Year (Cricket, Racquet Sports, Individual Sports, Team Sports, Track and Field, Parasports), Coach of the Year, Best State for Promotion of Sports, Best Corporate for Promotion of Sports, Best PSU for Promotion of Sports, Best College/University for Promotion of Sports, Lifetime Achievement Award, Young Achiever of the Year (Boy), Young Achiever of the Year (Girl), Best Talent Mentor (Grassroots Coach).

A new award called the Spirit of Sport is also being introduced. It will look at rewarding deeds of great sportsmanship.

There will also be a separate Chairperson’s Award for Sports for the Social Good, which will honour individuals or organisations that have used the power of sports to make our world a better place.

The event is powered by IDFC First Bank and supported by Indian Oil, India Cements, United India, Ramaiah University, Experimenta Science Center GD Naidu Charity, Finolex Pipes, LIC, BPCL, Samsonite, Big Basket, Nippon Paint, CRICHQ, Casagrand and Wordswork.