Latest news with #Sable
Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Neeraj Chopra reclaims world No. 1 spot, Arshad Nadeem fourth in javelin throw rankings
Avinash Sable, India's top 3000m steeplechaser, aims to improve his personal best ahead of the World Championship in September after recovering from a year-long calf injury. Currently training in Ooty and Bengaluru, Sable has already achieved an 8:20.92 at the Asian Championships. He plans to compete in multiple Diamond League events leading up to the championship, targeting a sub-eight-minute finish.
Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
‘D Gukesh has not been that good at any Grand Slam': Freestyle Chess CEO brutally claims Las Vegas absence ‘expected'
Avinash Sable, India's top 3000m steeplechaser, aims to improve his personal best ahead of the World Championship in September after recovering from a year-long calf injury. Currently training in Ooty and Bengaluru, Sable has already achieved an 8:20.92 at the Asian Championships. He plans to compete in multiple Diamond League events leading up to the championship, targeting a sub-eight-minute finish.
Indian Express
a day ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
Fit-again after calf and hamstring injuries, steeplechaser Avinash Sable eyes training stint in Morocco before World Athletics Championships
An injury to the right calf and hamstring was the reason for a mellow start to the season, India's middle-distance runner Avinash Sable said. Sable has run three races so far this year but his timings are nowhere close to the personal best of 8 minutes, 9.91 seconds. Sable started the season with the Xiamen Diamond League in April, clocking 8:22.59. He then ran at the Shanghai Diamond League, where he recorded a time of 8:23.85 and his last race was at the Asian Athletics Championships in South Korea, where he clocked 8:20.92 to record his season best and also win the gold medal. The athlete from Maharashtra revealed that he was carrying an injury in the right calf and hamstring, which has impacted his timings. 'I was injured at the start of the season and that resulted in the poor results in the two Diamond League events in China,' Sable told the reporters in Bengaluru. 'Last-minute pull-outs from such big events send the wrong message, so I decided to go on with it despite the injury. I had a calf injury, and there was a lot of pain in my right calf and hamstring. But now I have recovered.' Currently training at the SAI Centre in Bengaluru, Sable has recovered from his injury and is looking forward to the upcoming tournaments. 'The recovery was good and I feel much better than at the start of the season,' said Sable. Sable will next compete at the Diamond League in Monaco next month but his ultimate target this year is September's World Championship. 'I might participate in the Brussels Diamond League (after the Monaco leg). I will compete in some competitions in India also. My main focus will be to do well in the World Championships,' he said. Until the 2024 Paris Olympics, Sable was training under Scott Simmons at Colorado Springs in the USA. However, after the Olympics, he has moved back to Bengaluru and is looking forward to some options in Africa to train. 'It was good training under Scott Simmons but I think I needed a change as it was not suited for my body. Currently, I don't have a full-time coach. I take support from Coach Kalyan Chaudhary who has been appointed by the Athletics Federation of India. Mostly, I have been making my plans and working on them, with Kalyan sir guiding me whenever needed. I trained under him before the two Diamond Leagues and then again ahead of the Asian Championships,' said Sable. He added: 'I searched for training bases in Africa and I have zeroed down on Morocco. The city of Ifrane is on my mind. After the Monaco Diamond League, I plan to train there for 45 days and spend some time training in Bengaluru also before the World Championships.' The plan to train in Morocco has not yet been sanctioned. Sable said he'll soon send a proposal to the federation. Sable became the first-ever Indian to dip below the timing of 8:10.00 in the 3000m steeplechase last year at the Paris Diamond League, setting a new national record. 'Last year was not that great due to the injuries later on. After the Paris Diamond League, I planned to run more races with a similar timing but it didn't happen,' said Sable. 'I have worked on things like finishing the race and tracking my mileage throughout the race. With the preparation I have, there are good chances that I clock my personal best or time closer to it at the Monaco Diamond League. At the World Championships, my focus will be to improve on my previous performance at the event.' Like the 90m mark that bothered Indian Javelin star Neeraj Chopra for years, the question of the 8-minute mark in steeplechase is quite prevalent. When asked if he, too, thinks about the milestone, Sable said: 'I want to break the 8-minute barrier but I know it won't happen that quickly. With training and gradual improvement, I might break it sometime later.' Apart from Steeplechase, Sable also runs the 5000m and 10000m occasionally. But he wants to focus on 5,000m after the World Championships. 'Sometimes, if I focus on two events, it hampers my performance in my main event. I might try 1500m or 5000m but my focus will be on Steeplechase till Worlds. After the World Championships, I will focus more on the 5000m also and won't leave the event,' he concluded. 8:20.92- Asian Athletics Championships 8:22.59- Xiamen Diamond League 8:23.82- Shanghai Diamond League (The writer is at the National Centre of Excellence, Bengaluru, at the invitation of the Sports Authority of India)
Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Sable hopes to better his best at Worlds
Bengaluru: 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). Avinash Sable will compete at the world championships in Tokyo in September. (Corbis via Getty Images) 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. 'It won't happen instantly. I am working on it and if everything is in place, I should be able to do it within a couple of seasons. At the Worlds, I want to better my best and get as close to breaking that 8-minute mark as possible,' he said. 'I want to improve my position from last time at Worlds. This year I have worked on finishing the race and maximising the mileage. But more than the position, I want to improve my timing from the last time.' Sable will next be in action at the Monaco Diamond League next month and is also planning to compete at a competition at home in the run-up to Worlds. His training is split between Ooty and Bengaluru and he is currently trained by SAI coach Kalyan Chaudhary. 'Kalyan sir has recently joined me. Before that, I was making my own training plans,' Sable, who moved out from Scott Simmons' stable earlier this year, said. 'Scott is a good coach but his training methods weren't conducive to my body, so I took that call.' 'The training with coach Nikolai (Snesarev) worked well for me, so I'm continuing with that. I haven't spoken to a long-term coach, and I'll continue like this for the season.' Sable also dabbled with the idea of shifting his training base to Africa this year, but decided against it. Plans are, however, afoot to get a 45-day training window in Morocco's Irfane, a small town in Middle Atlas Mountains.
The Hindu
a day ago
- Sport
- The Hindu
Sable hopes to leave injuries, poor form behind, get close to 8-minute mark at World Championships
A mixed 2024 and a less than satisfactory 2025 so far not withstanding, Avinash Sable is focussed on improving both his performance and position at the World Championships later this year. He set a new national record of 8:09.91 in July last year but constantly struggled with injuries that affected his form and competitive exposure. Currently training at the Sports Authority of India's Southern Centre here with coach Kalyan Chaudhuri, Sable said that things were much better now. 'I had to struggle a lot because of injuries last season. I had a calf injury and a lot of recurring pain in my right calf and hamstring. It had started after the Asian Games in 2023 and continued till earlier this year. There was little training but I participated in two Diamond League events in China (Xiamen and Shanghai) despite that because I wanted to test myself. The results weren't good but I was not surprised. Then I competed in the Asian Championship and now preparations are going well, there is no pain,' he told select mediapersons during an interaction here on Friday. Sable, who ended his association with American coach Scott Simmons to train at home earlier this year, is looking to train abroad, possibly Morocco, and participate in two more Diamond League events including Monaco and domestic competitions before heading to the World Championships in September. 'I compete in two events but at world level participate in only one. This year I have focussed on the 3000m steeplechase but after the Worlds I will focus on the 5000m also. I will also be participating in 1500m in July-August to improve speed. I will not leave 5000m,' he declared. His season's best of 8:20.92 at the Asian Championships last month is far from expectations but Sable is confident of getting closer to the elusive eight-minute mark through the rest of the season. Only 13 men have ever gone under eight, only one from Asia – Qatar's Saif Saaeed Shaheen in 2004. 'Timing is important but at major competitions, position is equally important. My target for the World Championships is to get close to my personal best and the eight-minute mark, if not break it and minutes. But I also want to improve my position from last time (he finished a disappointing 7th in his heat in 2023). I have worked on my finishing, mileage etc,' he said.
