Asian Games: Avinash Sable restores faith step by step

BENGALURU: For 14 months now, Avinash Sable has been fighting a battle that has little to do with stopwatches. At the Monaco Diamond League last July, the 2023 Asian Games steeplechase champion stumbled into the water after a competitor in front of him lost his balance. Sable also fell, limping off the track and entering the longest injury layoff of his career.Surgery for a torn ACL and meniscus forced the 31-year-old to miss the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and begin a long, often lonely road to recovery. There has been altitude training in Ooty, internship at Inspire Institute of Sport in Bellary and recently training at SAI South Center in Bengaluru.“This past year has been very difficult for me because it’s the longest I’ve been out of competition since my steeplechase debut in 2017,” said Sable.The injury in Monaco was particularly cruel because it came when he was in the form of his life. In May last year, Sable won gold at the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea with a best time of 8:20.92. “The medal gave me the confidence to aim higher. During the time I won the Asian medal, my fitness was at its best. So I thought I would perform my personal best in the Monaco Diamond League and then the injury happened,” he regretted.Since then, he managed to put the failures behind him. “I have started training continuously since June for the Asian Games and I feel good and confident,” he said.The first test of that confidence comes at the Indian Athletics Final Series in New Delhi on September 10, when Sable returns to competition. “I will build confidence in the event and do better than the last Asian Games,” he said.