New Delhi, Sep 6 As he went into his final kick in the home stretch and with 500m to go for the finish line in 3000m steeplechase at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, India's Avinash Sable thought he can win the gold medal.
But he eventually finished second, 0.05 seconds behind Abraham Kibiwot of Kenya, beaking the African nation's domination of the steeplechase event since 1994. With the silver medal, Sable became the first non-Kenyan to win a medal in the men's 3000m steeplechase event.
"In the last 500m of the race, I thought I could win Gold as well and I fought hard for it, but unfortunately, I couldn't clinch the first place," Sable said on Tuesday.
The athlete from the Beed district of Maharashtra said a four-month training stint in the United States before the Commonwealth Games boosted his confidence for Birmingham 2022.
"I trained in the US for four months before the Commonwealth Games. That's where I attained a lot of confidence. I wanted to win a Medal at any cost, and I prepared well for the event," the Armyman said during the launch event of the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon here.
Sable, who has made a name for himself in long-distance running, broke the national half marathon record in the last edition of the Delhi Half Marathon and also became the first Indian to complete a half marathon in less than 61 minutes. The athlete also spoke about the specialty of the Delhi Half Marathon.
"The Delhi Half Marathon is a great opportunity for Indian runners. We get to compete with world-class runners. This event provides a good chance for young runners to compete with the best in the world. We get a lot of support during the run as well. A lot of people come to watch us," Sable was quoted as saying in a release on Tuesday.
The registrations for the 17th edition of the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon opened following a grand launch event in the capital city on Thursday (Sep 1). The event was attended by a host of sports role models including Anju Bobby George, Avinash Sable, Nikhat Zareen, Sardara Singh, Eldhose Paul, Sharad Kumar and Vijender Singh.
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