At the Asian Games in Hangzhou on Sunday, India’s Avinash Sable won the gold medal in the men’s 3000m steeplechase. He won first place with a time of 8:19:50s, shattering the Games record in the process.
Sable’s medal is the first gold in track and field at the Asian Games in Hangzhou and India’s 12th gold overall. Sable pushed ahead to create a gap between himself and the rest of the pack, unlike his energy conserving tactics at the Budapest World Championships, and won the race by a huge margin. Sable turned back as he approached the finish line of the last 50 metres and cheered as he crossed the line. Sable, who won silver in the 2022 Commonwealth Games, now owns the record with a time of 8 minutes, 11.20 seconds. His season-best time of 8:11.63 places him behind Japanese athlete Miura Ryuji (SB: 8:09.91) in second place among Asians.