Fit-again after calf and hamstring injuries, steeplechaser Avinash Sable eyes training stint in Morocco before World Athletics Championships
Sable started the season with the Xiamen Diamond League in April, clocking 8:22.59. He then ran at the Shanghai Diamond League, where he recorded a time of 8:23.85 and his last race was at the Asian Athletics Championships in South Korea, where he clocked 8:20.92 to record his season best and also win the gold medal.
The athlete from Maharashtra revealed that he was carrying an injury in the right calf and hamstring, which has impacted his timings. 'I was injured at the start of the season and that resulted in the poor results in the two Diamond League events in China,' Sable told the reporters in Bengaluru. 'Last-minute pull-outs from such big events send the wrong message, so I decided to go on with it despite the injury. I had a calf injury, and there was a lot of pain in my right calf and hamstring. But now I have recovered.'
Currently training at the SAI Centre in Bengaluru, Sable has recovered from his injury and is looking forward to the upcoming tournaments. 'The recovery was good and I feel much better than at the start of the season,' said Sable.
Sable will next compete at the Diamond League in Monaco next month but his ultimate target this year is September's World Championship. 'I might participate in the Brussels Diamond League (after the Monaco leg). I will compete in some competitions in India also. My main focus will be to do well in the World Championships,' he said.
Until the 2024 Paris Olympics, Sable was training under Scott Simmons at Colorado Springs in the USA. However, after the Olympics, he has moved back to Bengaluru and is looking forward to some options in Africa to train.
'It was good training under Scott Simmons but I think I needed a change as it was not suited for my body. Currently, I don't have a full-time coach. I take support from Coach Kalyan Chaudhary who has been appointed by the Athletics Federation of India. Mostly, I have been making my plans and working on them, with Kalyan sir guiding me whenever needed. I trained under him before the two Diamond Leagues and then again ahead of the Asian Championships,' said Sable.
He added: 'I searched for training bases in Africa and I have zeroed down on Morocco. The city of Ifrane is on my mind. After the Monaco Diamond League, I plan to train there for 45 days and spend some time training in Bengaluru also before the World Championships.'
The plan to train in Morocco has not yet been sanctioned. Sable said he'll soon send a proposal to the federation.
Sable became the first-ever Indian to dip below the timing of 8:10.00 in the 3000m steeplechase last year at the Paris Diamond League, setting a new national record.
'Last year was not that great due to the injuries later on. After the Paris Diamond League, I planned to run more races with a similar timing but it didn't happen,' said Sable. 'I have worked on things like finishing the race and tracking my mileage throughout the race. With the preparation I have, there are good chances that I clock my personal best or time closer to it at the Monaco Diamond League. At the World Championships, my focus will be to improve on my previous performance at the event.'
Like the 90m mark that bothered Indian Javelin star Neeraj Chopra for years, the question of the 8-minute mark in steeplechase is quite prevalent.
When asked if he, too, thinks about the milestone, Sable said: 'I want to break the 8-minute barrier but I know it won't happen that quickly. With training and gradual improvement, I might break it sometime later.'
Apart from Steeplechase, Sable also runs the 5000m and 10000m occasionally. But he wants to focus on 5,000m after the World Championships. 'Sometimes, if I focus on two events, it hampers my performance in my main event. I might try 1500m or 5000m but my focus will be on Steeplechase till Worlds. After the World Championships, I will focus more on the 5000m also and won't leave the event,' he concluded.
8:20.92- Asian Athletics Championships
8:22.59- Xiamen Diamond League
8:23.82- Shanghai Diamond League
(The writer is at the National Centre of Excellence, Bengaluru, at the invitation of the Sports Authority of India)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
7 hours ago
- Time of India
29 year old athlete dies during World Games in China after orienteering event: Here's what happened
The 12th edition of the World Games, happening in Chengdu, China (Aug 7–17), took a devastating turn when 29-year-old Italian orienteer Mattia Debertolis tragically passed away. He collapsed during the men's middle-distance orienteering race on August 8 and was found unconscious on the course. Despite receiving immediate medical attention, Mattia sadly passed away four days later on August 12, 2025. If you've never heard of orienteering, no worries, it's like a real-life treasure hunt/survival race combo. Athletes zip across wild terrains with just a map and compass, hitting checkpoints as fast as they can. Super cool, adrenaline-pumping, but also tough on the body. On race day, the heat and humidity were off the charts—temps over 30°C, some reports even say it spiked as high as 37°C out there on the course. Who was Mattia Debertolis? Mattia wasn't just another young athlete chasing podiums. He was part of Italy's national orienteering squad, a civil engineer by training, and a PhD student living in Stockholm. He competed in several World Championships and World Cups, last month alone he reached the final in the middle-distance event in Finland. Orienteering isn't just about reading a map, it's a full-on endurance test. You're running through forests, climbing hills, dodging streams, and making split-second decisions about where to go next. It's like mixing cross-country running with a mental puzzle, and your body has to keep up with both. Endurance is everything here: athletes push their stamina to the max while staying sharp enough not to get lost. Add in unpredictable terrain and weather, and it's easy to see why orienteering is considered one of the toughest outdoor sports. It's brains plus brawn, and only the fittest can truly thrive. Both the World Games organizers and the International Orienteering Federation (IOF) released joint statements expressing profound grief. They're standing by Mattia's family and the wider orienteering community every step of the way. IOF President Tom Hollowell put it perfectly: he couldn't properly express the 'unfathomable depth of sadness' felt over such a tragic loss. He encouraged the global orienteering family to honor Mattia's memory. This tragic event is a stark reminder of how physical limits can sneak up on you—especially in extreme conditions. Even the strongest athletes can be vulnerable when the heat pushes body temperatures too high, and hydration or response times falter just a bit. For anyone trekking, running, or competing outdoors—especially in heat—this underscores the importance of climate awareness, pre-race conditioning, and immediate medical readiness.
Indian Express
8 hours ago
- Indian Express
Why playing World No 1 Shi Yuqi earlier in Round 1 rather than later, is better for Lakshya Sen
It's not unprecedented. Lee Chong Wei and even Viktor Axelsen have exited World Championships early as top seeds in last decade. But Shi Yuqi is on a hot streak of 3/3 Super 1000 titles this year, and 9/9 tournament finals since start of 2024. So, Indian badminton fans can be excused their morose mugs at the sight of the World No 1 drawn against Lakshya Sen in the Badminton World Championship draw. It's a depressed fan base, long-suffering since Paris Olympics, and prone to dunking own players at slightest hints of Top 10 opponents lining up early. Sen, however, has no such luxuries to sit and mope. And all things considered Round 1 might be the best time to go up against the toughest opponent in the draw. Shi Yuqi is not ideal to face in the first round, but when dreaming of a World Championship medal, isn't having to beat big names inevitable? It's how India won its last medal – Prannoy playing a masterfully strategic game, plotted by Pullela Gopichand and Gurusaidutt, to down Viktor 'The Axelsen' at home in Copenhagen in 2023. Ask Sindhu, Saina, Sai Praneeth, Srikanth or Satwik-Chirag, and they will reel off all the 'big names' they roiled against, ro earn their medals. For Sen – there's Shi Yuqi, and hopefully Christo Popov, Alex Lanier and Li Shifeng, though plenty hinges on how his back, shoulder hold up and what Sen's stamina reserves, are at. Go back a year, and there was similar mourning and muttering over Lakshya Sen's Olympic draw. He was placed in a group where he had to play an extra match, and which had Indonesian Jonatan Christie, at that point, looking good for a podium, if not gold. Jojo had beaten Sen the last couple of times, and would start as favourite. But it was some steely nerves and a pinpoint tactical game that helped the Indian get past the Indonesian, top the pool and get out of the group. But even before the draw, Anders Antonsen had made a pertinent point: he said Sen was a dangerous floater that everyone wanted to avoid early, and Christie felt the KO punches, as did Chou Tien Chen later. Sen's meltdowns against Viktor Axelsen and Lee Zii Jia which denied him a medal, deserve a separate piece. Not so much the tactics (though those can be threadbared in hindsight), but his inability to summon a certain kind of heavyweight game, when smashing or killing at the net, at the business end in Paris, and letting himself down psychologically, cost Sen those matches. But early in a tournament, when he was not tired in the mind, and fresh and motivated, Sen could snatch momentum away from Christie, a clear favourite. It's why playing Shi Yuqi – if he must, and he needs to – is a better proposition in Round 1 than in quarters, with a medal on the line. Let's call it the best of the worst-case scenarios. Sen is prone to over-training, putting inordinate pressure on his back and shoulder in needlessly rough training sessions, and exerting in the gym more than some think he ought to. He does this to be best prepared. But the back can backfire. He goes into the Paris Worlds with a massive hit on his confidence after the Olympics and first round exits on Tour, but as any coach would tell him, there's literally nothing to do about past disappointments. Yuqi is no slam-bang, impetuous hitter – but neither was Jojo. But the Chinese' vulnerability – the tiniest one – might be his eagerness to win a World title, which he hasn't all these years, but can this time. With Viktor Axelsen having pulled out, everyone will have breathed a sigh of relief, but Yuqi will be under some pressure to make that count, so having the devilishly disruptive Sen across the net, might be equally unpleasant for him, as his visage and elegant game will be for Sen. All of Kodai Naraoka, Loh Kean Yew, Li Shifeng and Alex Lanier are bunched in Sen's half, so it's going to be one painful ride if he gets past Yuqi to run into aggressive playing styles that he struggles against. But a badminton World Championship medal never came easy to anyone. The bitter-better, clutching-at-straws way of looking at things might be to glance at the draw, and thank the heavens for Kunlavut Vitidsarn for being in the other half. There's a similar toughening-up brief to be delivered to Satwik-Chirag. Satwik woke up on his birthday on Wednesday and was gifted Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang in Round of 16, and Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik potentially if they get past the Thais, in quarters. The Indians tend to start well these days, and should back themselves against the Chinese first up. The results aren't dizzying great, but the game is far more prepared for what Liang-Wang can throw at them. If the shoulders are alright, the Indians ought to think of Paris before the Olympic disappointment, when it was their favourite venue, where they won their last title. Aaron-Soh are fantastic players, but not unbeatable by the Indians. Luck can have its way with them, but even on a downturn, Satwik-Chirag make tournament semis, and can play the big game at will. Form book says India could end up with a second straight wretched August at Paris, and no medal for first time since 2010. But there's scores to settle with Paris, redemption arcs to traverse, and miles to go before Indian fans turn crabby.
Time of India
13 hours ago
- Time of India
Matthew Tkachuk injury update: Panthers star unlikely to sit out full season despite surgery option and Olympic concerns
Matthew Tkachuk is contemplating surgery, potentially sidelining him for the start of the season (Getty Images) Matthew Tkachuk, the Florida Panthers forward faces an uncertain start to the season as he weighs potential surgery, but a full-year absence appears unrealistic. With Olympic ambitions, competitive drive, and Florida's roster depth, the expectation is a midseason return rather than sitting out the entire regular campaign. Matthew Tkachuk expected to miss months but not entire season Matthew Tkachuk gutted through a torn adductor and sports hernia to help the Florida Panthers repeat as Stanley Cup champions, even scoring the Game 6 clincher against the Edmonton Oilers. As training camp nears, he's acknowledged that surgery remains on the table — a choice that could sideline him for the opening months. That has sparked armchair plans for a Nikita Kucherov–style long-term injured reserve maneuver, keeping Tkachuk out until the playoffs. Sportsnet's Michael Amato poured cold water on that idea, noting the 2026 Olympic break changes the calculus: 'The flaw with that theory is that the Olympics are in February and there's no way Tkachuk would sit out if he can get himself healthy,' he wrote. The Tkachuk brothers also showed at the 4 Nations Face-Off that they don't pass up USA–Canada chapters. The real timeline: months, not the whole season — and why Florida can still survive the gap A clearer range came from Frank Seravalli's notebook, which pegged recovery at 'three to five months.' by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Paras Sector 59 Gurgaon | Luxury Awaits at Paras Floret Paras The Florett Book Now Undo If Tkachuk opts for surgery around camp, that projects a return somewhere between late winter and early spring — disruptive, yes, but hardly a season-long exile. In the meantime, Florida can lean on its layered spine and bank the cap flexibility from LTIR to add stopgaps, then reinsert a fully weaponized Tkachuk for the stretch run. Tkachuk himself hasn't slammed the door on an earlier window, telling ESPN's Greg Wyshynski he is 'still hoping to hit the ice as soon as possible,' adding: 'If I do get the surgery, it definitely will be the first two, maybe three months (of the season) if that's the case. But it's still undecided at this point.' Also Read: 'I deserve a chance': Nazem Kadri fires back after Hockey Canada camp exclusion, cites career-best season and experience July offered a human snapshot of where his head and heart are. During his Cup day in St. Louis, Tkachuk visited St. Louis Children's Hospital and local first responders before celebrating with his family. At the police station, he quipped, 'Hopefully that's my last time in a cell unless it's with the Cup again another time.' That blend of competitiveness and community is exactly why a voluntary year-long sit-out never passed the smell test. Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
