Sable Ends Lowly 13th in Xiamen DL Steeplechase

India's 3000m steeplechase ace Avinash Sable struggled to finish 13th in the season's first competition at the Xiamen Diamond League meeting on Saturday, clocking a slow 8 minutes, 22.59 seconds in a world-class field in China.

- HTC/Agencies

NEW DELHI:

The 30-year-old stayed behind the leading pack for most of the race before fading away in a race that saw 16 runners completing.

Sable, who set his last national record of 8:09.91 in July last year, was competing for the first time since the Diamond League Final last September where he finished ninth, clocking 8:17.09.

Samuel Firewu of Ethiopia caused a major upset, beating Morocco's reigning Olympic and world champion Soufiane El Bakkali to victory. Firewu clocked 8:05.61 with double Olympic champion El Bakkali finished second at 8:06.66. Kenya's Simon Kiprop Koech (8:07.12) was third.