NEW DELHI: Indian steeplechase national record holder Avinash Sable finished ninth in his Diamond League final debut in Brussels on Friday, marking his 30th birthday with a below-par performance. He clocked 8 minutes and 17.09 seconds in the race, not matching the national record of 8:09.91 he set in the Paris leg of the DL series in July.
The race saw Kenya's Amos Serem win the championship with a time of 8:06.90. Soufiane El Bakkali from Morocco, the reigning Olympic and world champion, came in second at 8:08.60. Tunisia's Mohamed Amin Jhinaoui secured third place, clocking 8:09.68.
Sable unexpectedly qualified for his first Diamond League final, having finished 14th in the overall standings with three points from two meetings. He made it to the top 10 cut-off due to withdrawals by Ethiopia's Lamecha Girma, New Zealand's Geordie Beamish, Japan's Ryuji Mura, and the USA's Hillary Bor as per PTI report.
Throughout the season, Sable had mixed results. He set a personal best and national record of 8:09.91 in the Paris leg in July, finishing sixth. However, he finished 14th in the Silesia leg in August with a time of 8:29.96. He also finished 11th in the 3000m steeplechase at the Paris Olympics with a time of 8:14.18.
Meanwhile, world champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, who won a silver at the Paris Olympics, will compete in the Diamond League final on Saturday.
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