Sable makes it look easy as Toor wins with final throw

Saroj Kumar and Harmilan Bains win silver in men's and women's 1,500m; Seema Punia wins discus bronze at 40

- SHANTANU SRIVASTAVA

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.