Asian Games 2023: Avinash Sable wins gold in men’s 3000m steeplechase; breaks Games record

India’s Avinash Sable won the gold medal in men’s 3000m steeplechase at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Sunday.

Avinash Mukund Sable of Team India | Photo Credit: David Ramos

India’s Avinash Sable won the gold medal in men’s 3000m steeplechase at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Sunday. He took top honours with a timing of 8:19:50s, breaking the Games record along the way.

Sable’s medal is India’s 12th gold at this edition of the Asian Games and the first track and field gold in Hangzhou.

Unlike his energy conservation strategy at the Budapest World Championships, Sable raced ahead to build a distance between himself and the rest of the field and won the race by a massive distance. In the final 50m, Sable turned around to see no one close to him as he approached the end and celebrated as he crossed the finish line.

Sable, a 2022 Commonwealth Games silver medallist, holds the national record of 8 minutes 11.20 seconds. His season’s best time is 8:11.63, placing him in second position among Asians behind Miura Ryuji (SB: 8:09.91) of Japan.

In Hangzhou, besides the 3000m steeplechase, his pet event, Sable will also compete in the 5000m race.

“I am confident about steeplechase and my main aim is to win gold in that event but I am also focusing on 5000 metres,” he said.

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