Asian Athletics Championships 2025: Avinash Sable wins men’s 3000m steeplechase gold – India’s first since 1989
National record holder Avinash Sable became the first Indian man in 36 years to win a gold medal in 3000m steeplechase at the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, Korea, on Thursday.
The 30-year-old Sable, a two-time Olympian and the reigning Asian Games champion, crossed the finish line in 8:20.92s to seal a comfortable victory. Japan’s Yutaro Niinae (8:24.41s) won silver while Qatar’s Zakaria Elahlaami (8:27.12s) took bronze.
Sable had won a silver medal at the 2019 edition in Doha. However, his achievement in Korea makes him only the third man after Harbel Singh (1975) and Dina Ram (1989) to win a gold in the event.
The continental showpiece was Sable’s third event of the season after two Diamond League meetings in Xiamen and Shaoxing where he finished 13th (8:22.59s) and eighth (8:23.85s), respectively.
He has already met the entry standard of 8:15.00s for the World Championships in September in Tokyo on the basis of his performance at the Paris Olympics 2024 where he finished 11th in 8:14.18s.
India has nine medals at the ongoing edition – three gold, four silver and two bronze – so far.