Sable plans to ring in changes after disappointing Paris run

India's steeplechaser is on the lookout for a new coach after a disappointing 11th place finish at Paris

- Shantanu Srivastava

NEW DELHI: Avinash Sable has no qualms in accepting that 2024 was his worst year since his rise to prominence. The 30-year-old turned up in his pet event - 3,000m steeplechase - in six competitions last year and barring the Paris Diamond League in July, where he rewrote his national record for the 11th time (8:09.91), there was nothing to gloat about.

At the Olympics, Sable became the first Indian male steeplechaser to make the final, but an 11th-place finish with a time of 8:14.18 didn't do justice to the promise he had shown in the couple of years leading up to Paris. "It was one of my worst years on the circuit. I performed way below my expectations. We train for four years for the Olympics but when the moment came, I just could not deliver," Sable said.

Paris was not the first time Sable had combusted at the big stage. After failing to make the final at Tokyo Olympics, he had a forgettable World Championships final (8:31.75) in 2022 where he finished 11th.

He redeemed himself admirably at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in less than three weeks to finish second (8:11.20), a feat that ended Kenya's 28-year undisputed reign over the discipline.

Next year, he became the first Indian man to win the steeplechase at the Hangzhou Asian Games and looked primed for a strong show at the Olympics. That's when things started going downhill.