India’s top 3000m steeplechaser Avinash Sable finished a disappointing 14th after clocking 8:29.96s in the Silesia Diamond League held in Poland’s Silesia on Sunday.
The 29-year-old reigning Asian Games champion looked far from his best as he was well below his personal best of 8:09.91s to finish near the bottom. Seventeen runners completed the race while three did not finish.
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Reigning Olympic and world champion El Bakkali Soufiane (8:04.29) of Morocco won the race while Amos Serem (8:04.29) of Kenya and Samuel Firewu (8:04.34) of Ethiopia were second and third, respectively.
The top-six finishers in the Paris Olympics earlier this year competed in Poland. In the Paris Diamond League last month, Sable had shattered his own national record while finishing sixth with a time of 8:09.91.
He had become the first Indian man to qualify for the Olympics 3000m steeplechase finals during the Paris Games earlier this month, where he finished 11th with a time of 8:14.18.
The 14th place finish also ended Sable’s hopes of qualifying for the Diamond League finals in Brussels with the next two meets in Rome and Zurich not slated to have the men’s 3000m steeplechase competition.
Star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, who recently finished second at the Lausanne Diamond League, two weeks after winning the silver at the Paris Olympics, is the only Indian in fray for the Diamond League finals in Brussels. Neeraj bettered his season best with a throw of 89.49m in the Lausanne DL, and is currently at the third spot in the standings.
