National record holder 3000m steeplechaser Avinash Sable finished ninth in the season-ending Diamond League final with a below-par time on Friday. Birthday boy Sable, who turned 30 on Friday, clocked 8 minute and 17.09 seconds to finish ninth in the 10-man field in his debut DL final. Amos Serem of Kenya emerged as the Diamond League champion with a time of 8:06.90, while reigning Olympic and world champion Soufiane El Bakkali (8:08.60) of Morocco was second in the season-ending finale. Mohamed Amin Jhinaoui of Tunisia was third with 8:09.68. World champion and Paris Olympics silver medallist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra will be in action on Saturday.

Sable had finished 11th in the Paris Olympic Games with a time of 8:14.18.

He had finished 14th in the overall Diamond League standings with three points from two meetings. But four athletes ranked higher than him — Lamecha Girma (injured) of Ethiopia, Geordie Beamish of New Zealand, Ryuji Mura of Japan and Hillary Bor of the USA — pulled out, allowing him to sneak inside the top 10 cut-off.

Five meetings out of the 14 in the DL series across the world this season had men’s 3000m steeplechase event.

Reigning Asian Games champion Sable had finished sixth with a national record time of 8:09.91 — bettering his own earlier mark — in the Paris leg of the Diamond League on July 7. He was 14th at the Silesia leg with a time of 8:29.96 on August 25.

Each Diamond League season finale champion is awarded a ‘Diamond Trophy’, USD 30,000 prize money and a wild card for the World Athletics Championships.

National record holder 3000m steeplechaser Avinash Sable will run in his maiden Diamond League Final in Brussels, joining star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra in the season-ending event, as he is listed among 12 participants for the winner-takes-all race on Friday. Sable finished 14th in the overall Diamond League standings with three points he garnered from two meetings. But four athletes ranked higher than him — Lamecha Girma (injured) of Ethiopia, Geordie Beamish of New Zealand, Ryuji Mura of Japan and Hillary Bor of the USA — are not taking part in the final.

The season finale will be a two-day affair on September 13 and 14. The men’s 3000m steeplechase is scheduled for September 13 while the men’s javelin throw event will he held the next day.

Five meetings out of the 14 in the DL series across the world this season had men’s 3000m steeplechase event.

The 29-year-old Sable had finished sixth with a national record time of 8:09.91 — bettering his own earlier mark — in the Paris leg of the Diamond League on July 7. He was 14th at the Silesia leg with a time of 8:29.96 on August 25.

He had finished a disappointing 11th at the Paris Games on August 7 with a time of 8:14.18 after becoming the first Indian to enter Olympics final in men’s 3000m steeplechase.

Two-time Olympic medal winner Chopra qualified for the DL final after finishing fourth in the overall standings.

Chopra accumulated 14 points from his two second-place finishes in the one-day meets held in Doha and Lausanne.

Each Diamond League season finale champion is awarded a prestigious ‘Diamond Trophy’, USD 30,000 prize money and a wild card for the World Athletics Championships.

The runner-up will get USD 12,000 and so on till the eight-place finisher who will pocket USD 1000.

India’s Avinash Sable will be hoping to continue to build on his superb performance in men’s 3000m steeplechase at the Paris Olympic Games when he takes part in the 12th meet of the 2024 Diamond League to be held at the Silesian Stadium on Sunday. Along with multiple medallists from Paris 2024, the premier track-and-field meet will feature Sable, who recently became the first Indian to qualify for the final of the men’s 3000m steeplechase event at the Olympics.

Sable will compete against 19 other runners, including the Paris 2024’s Top-3, Soufiane El Bakkali (Morocco), Kenneth Rooks (USA), and Abraham Kibiwot (Kenya).

Sable had finished 11th in the 3000m steeplechase final in the Paris Olympic Games with a timing of 8:14.18. Earlier, he had clocked 8:15.43 in Heat 2 to qualify for the final.

Among other Paris Olympic Games stars that will be in action in this meet will be Botswana’s first-ever Olympic gold medallist, Letsile Tebogo, who will be the top attraction in the men’s 200m following his historic Olympic win.

The men’s 800m will feature a Paris 2024 rematch between gold medallist Emmanuel Wanyonyi (Kenya) and silver medallist Marco Arop (Canada). Other top athletes in action include Paris 2024 shot put gold medallist Ryan Crouser (USA) and pole vault world record-breaker Armand Duplantis (Sweden).

For Indian fans, the action will be available live and exclusively on JioCinema and Sports18 – 1 HD from 7.30 pm onwards on Sunday.

India’s 3,000m steeplechase star Avinash Sable has lashed out at fans and users on social media who criticise and troll the athletes participating in the Paris Olympics 2024. Despite coming into the Olympics with high hopes of beating their Tokyo 2020 medal tally of seven, India have only managed to win five medals so far and look unlikely to meet that tally. Amidst the Games, several Indian athletes – such as archer Deepika Kumari and wrestler Antim Panghal – have suffered trolling on social media platforms like X. Avinash hit back at such fans.

“There are some people who are posting messages on social media against our athletes. I felt bad reading them,” said Sable, speaking to Times of India.

“The top athletes from our country are here and they are lampooned about their performances. I saw athletes sitting next to me, reading those and going into depression. They are thinking how you can represent your country if you are ridiculed like this,” said Sable, who finished 11th in the 3,000m steeplechase final at Paris 2024.

Some notable cases of trolling have come against the likes of Deepika Kumari and Antim Panghal. Deepika – playing her fourth Olympics – crashed out in the women’s individual archery quarterfinals, whilst Panghal suffered a crushing 10-0 defeat in her Round of 16 bout, before making headlines as her sister had entered the Olympics village using her accreditation.

Sable further added, “There is no enjoyment for athletes training abroad. Some people think that we’re spending government money, going on tour and having a gala time. But that’s not the case. For the last four or five months, I’ve had to stay away from family and friends to train. You are returning from the ground at midnight and then having to cook your own food,” said Sable.

Sable defended some of the lesser performances by Indians at the ongoing Olympics, stating that they’re competing against the best athletes in the world.

“Some people are saying our athletes are coming last, but then we’re competing against the world’s best and trying hard,” he said.

India’s top 3000m steeplechaser Avinash Sable does not want to be just a participant at the Olympics and believes he can a win a medal at the Paris Games beginning later this month. The 29-year-old Sable, who recently broke his own national record, will be competing in his second Olympics. He had failed to make it to the finals at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. “I don’t want to just participate, I believe I can win a medal. I am working hard with my eyes set on that goal, if everything falls into place I win a medal,” Sable said when asked about the Paris Olympics.

“I used to think Olympic medallists had a unique and difficult approach to training, but my experiences over the past two years have boosted my confidence,” he said in a JioCinema release.

Sable had clocked 8 minutes and 9.91 seconds to break his earlier national record while finishing sixth at the Paris Diamond League earlier this month. At the Paris Olympics, he will face at least seven competitors who have run at better time than him this year.

The likes of legendary Indian athletes like Milkha Singh, Sriram Singh and PT Usha have inspired Sable to aim for an Olympic medal.

“Their performances at the world level have deeply inspired me. If my role models can excel globally, so can I. I’ve been taught to focus on my own progress rather than others. My competition is with my timing,” he said.

“My goal has always been self-improvement rather than focusing on the competition. This mindset has allowed me to break the national record ten times,” said the reigning Asian Games gold medallist.

He said his silver medal winning performance at the 2022 Commonwealth Games gave him the confidence that he can compete against the best in the world.

“My aim at the Commonwealth Games was to compete against the Kenyan athletes. Finishing second by a fraction of a second gave me the confidence that we can compete against the best in the world,” said Sable, who had broken Kenyan medal monopoly in 3000m steeplechase in the CWG.

The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) on Thursday announced that it has signed a multi-year deal with the sports wear brand Puma, which will now provide apparel, footwear and accessories to around 400 Indian athletes during domestic and international tournaments. Being the official kit sponsor, Puma’s accessories will be used by top Indian athletes including Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra, long jumper Murali Sreeshankar and steeplechaser Parul Chaudhary.

“As an athlete training for 12 years, I know the importance of high-quality gear for high-level practice. With AFI teaming up with global sports brand, Indian athletes across all levels will now have access to training gear of international excellence, assisting us to express our best in our game now,” Chopra was quoted as saying in a release.

“This partnership signals the bright future of Indian sport,” he added.

This is the first time Indian athletes will get access to world-class speed suits that Puma supplies globally to other athletes. The speed suits are designed to aid freedom of movement, aerodynamics and faster speed, supporting athletes to focus solely on their performance and increase efficiency,” the press release mentioned.

Karthik Balagopalan, Managing Director, PUMA India said, “At PUMA, we strongly believe in serving the athletes and helping them realise their full potential with our world class performance products. We are thrilled to partner with the Athletics Federation of India and help our athletes perform at the highest levels in various sporting disciplines across the globe. Together with Athletics Federation of India, we will accelerate this transformative journey in Indian athletics.”

AFI President Adille Sumariwalla said, “Our association with Puma represents a significant milestone for India’s athletes. With their high-quality gear, we are not only enhancing the performance of athletes but also creating a culture of excellence within the country’s sporting community. We are confident that this partnership will propel Indian athletics to new heights on the global stage.”