Bengaluru: Fit again after recovering from a nagging calf injury that plagued him for over a year, India’s premier 3,000m steeplechaser Avinash Sable has his sights firmly set on bettering his personal best in the upcoming meets, the foremost being the World Championships in September.
The reigning Asian Games champion has been undergoing high altitude training in Ooty and also sharpening his form at the Sports Authority of India’s Centre here this season.
“Last year was not good, it didn’t even look like I’ll be able to perform well. But this year I am competing in the Diamond League, so preparation (for the World Championship) is good,” Sable said. “My target is to notch my personal best, closer to eight minutes. 15 days are left of training, I think I will be able to go near eight.”
The 30-year-old was battling a calf injury since the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023. He opened his 2025 season with a time of of 8 minutes, 22.59 seconds at the Xiamen Diamond League, followed by an 8:23.85 effort in Shaoxing.
However, he bounced back by clinching gold at the Asian Championships in Gumi, South Korea in May afer clocking an improved 8:20.92.
“Preparations are going well. I was injured in the opening of the season. But despite that I participated in two Diamond League events in China.
“The results weren’t good because of the injury. Then I competed in the Asian Championship to boost my confidence. I started training in November, the off season also went well. I faced a lot of trouble due to injuries last season. I had a calf injury, there was a lot of pain in my right calf and hamstring. It started after the Asian Games and continued the entire year. The pain was there till January-February this year “ The 30-year-old had failed to reach the final at the last World Championships, finishing a disappointing seventh in his heat. But this time, he’s determined to do better.