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India’s 28-year-old Olympian and Commonwealth Games medalist Avinash Sable will compete at the weekend Rabat Diamond League in Morocco. He will have a goal to further lower his national 3000m steeplechase record of 8:11.20 seconds, says national coach Jaiveer Singh.
Sable recently improved his national 5000m time to 13:19.30 seconds in California, which indicates he is enjoying good fitness.
“He (Sable) is more fit than last year. We expect good time from him on Sunday in Rabat,” the national athletics coach told Sportskeeda over the phone from training base in Colorado Springs, USA. “He (Sable) left yesterday for Rabat with his USA training partner Hillary Bor,” the Indian coach added.
Sable along with a group of Indian middle and long distance runners have been practicing in the high altitude of Colorado Springs since March this year.
The main goal says the Indian coach is to prepare for the 2023 Budapest World Athletics Championships scheduled to be held in Hungary from August 19 and Hangzhou Asian Games in September.
The men’s 3000m steeplechase race in Rabat is expected to be fast. Morocco's home favourite Soufane El Bakkali will certainly put up a good show in front of the home crowd.
The Olympic and world steeplechase champion remained unbeaten in the 2022 season. At the 2022 edition of Rabat’s one-day prestigious Diamond League, El Bakkali clocked 7:58.28 seconds.
“He (El Bakkali) might aim to improve the world record of 7:53.63 set by Saif Shaheen in 2004,” the Indian coach said.
Kenya’s two-time world and 2016 Rio Olympic Games gold medalist Conseslus Kipruto, Ethiopia’s world and Olympic fourth-place finisher Getnet Wale, as well as Kenya’s Commonwealth Games champion Abraham Kibiwot and Leonard Bett, who finished second and third respectively at the Continental Tour Gold meeting in Nairobi earlier this month.
After the Rabat Diamond League, he will again go to his training base in Colorado Springs. To prepare for the world athletics championship Sable will compete in one or two more races in Europe and then directly go to Budapest.
“After the world championship the next target will be the Asian Games in China,” Singh said.
Meanwhile, promising middle distance runner Parvesh Khan, USA exposure tour turned out to be unproductive as he suffered a hairline fracture in his foot.
“He is recovering from the injury and might have to skip the next month’s intern state meet in Bhubaneswar,” the national athletics coach said.
