On a day marked by a false start drama and a successful protest, it is easy to forget what Avinash Sable achieved. The seats at the 80,000-seater Hangzhou Olympics Sports Centre had not been fully taken when Sable was introduced to the Sunday crowd. There was no customary applause, but six minutes into the 3000m steeplechase final, whispers turned to murmurs before the fans broke into cheers.
By the time the frail frame of Sable crossed the finish line in a Games record 8:19.50, the Chinese were rooting for the army man. “Indo Jiayou” they chanted, which translates to “come on, India”. Translations seldom do justice to moments such as these. Cameras out and on their feet, they willed him on to the finish line as Sable broke the five-year-old meet record (8:22.79) by over three minutes.
Sable began strongly, setting the early pace. Sable opened up a big lead in the first lap itself. The gap extended before the race ended as a start-to-finish affair. At one point, the lead appeared close to 200m. The first 1000m were covered in 2:40.97 minutes and the 2000 in 5:27.48, and had it not been for Sable slowing down, the national record of 8:11.20 minutes he set while winning silver in the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games could have fallen.
“I looked up at the screen after the fifth lap and could see no one behind. That’s when I decided to relax a bit and run for the medal. Had I gone full steam, I could have broken my national record too,” the 29-year-old said.
It has been a tough year for Sable. Prior to Sunday, he had not secured a single podium in the five races he had run this season. The biggest disappointment was the World Championships in Budapest where he clocked 8:22.24 minutes in the heats and failed to qualify for the final. Budapest was a cruel throwback to last year’s Eugene Worlds where Sable ran a shocking 8:31.75 minutes to finish 11th in the final. In both those races, he had floundered tactically, failing to step up pace after choosing to follow the leaders.
Having tasted success in Birmingham by “running my own race” Sable landed in Hangzhou determined to trust his pace. “I am very happy with the result. It has been an up-and-down year for me so far. I had committed to myself that I would win at any cost,” he said.
“I came to this competition in a great frame of mind, thinking I am the best. I learned my lessons from the World Championships and I was determined to give my best. In Birmingham, I realised I have a good natural pace and don’t really need a pace-setter to dictate the race to me. I will follow this tactic at the Olympics too,” said Sable, who trains in the altitude of Colorado Springs, US.
Shot-putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor defended his Asian Games crown in style, registering a throw of 20.36m on his sixth and last attempt to pip Saudi Arabia’s Mohamed Daouda Tolo, who was leading with his season’s best of 20.18m in the fourth attempt. Toor, who holds the Asian as well as the Games record, started with two fouls before 19.51m and 20.06m throws to warm up for the winning throw.
“I have been dealing with groin issues all year, so this result gives me a lot of satisfaction. I still couldn’t throw my 100 percent because I felt securing a medal was more important than throwing my best tonight,” he said.
Seema Punia at 40 won a creditable bronze in women’s bronze. It was her third Asian Games medal after gold in 2014 Incheon and bronze in 2018 Jakarta.
India bagged medals in both the 1,500m races. Ajay Kumar Saroj (3:38.94) underlined his consistency to win silver, ahead of defending champion Jinson Johnson (3:39.74), who took bronze. Harmilan Bains won silver in the women’s final, clocking 4:12.74.
In long jump, Murali Sreeshankar achieved his Asian Games “redemption” with silver. The 24-year-old had ended sixth in 2018 Jakarta. In Hangzhou, he cleared 8.19m in his fourth try, spending many anxious moments as the technical officials analysed his take-off that was so close to the foul line. He also had 8.01m and 8m in his four legal attempts. Jeswin Aldrin finished eighth with a best jump of 7.76m.
“I have been working hard to achieve consistency. I’ve worked a lot on my fitness and strength too, after Budapest where I didn’t make the final. This result is sweet redemption.” he said.
