National Inter-State Championships: Sable betters own meet record, Kushare consolidates Paris Olympics spot

Avinash Sable was far from his best but still ahead of the rest of the pack by a distance as he practically sauntered to win the 3000m steeplechase on Day 3 of the 63rd Inter-State Athletics Championships here on Saturday.

The national record holder, who has already attained the Paris Olympic qualifying standard, clocked 8:31.75s to overwrite his own previous meet record of 8:33.19s, set five years ago in Lucknow. That was also the last time he had participated in the Inter-State meet. Despite the slow race, Sable was satisfied with his effort, saying he had run only at 75-80 per cent.

“I think I am peaking at the right time. Earlier, I had thought of entering the 1500m to check my speed. But given the weather and conditions here, I thought I would have to put more effort in 1500m and so, decided against it,” Sable admitted.

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On Saturday, he explained, his main aim was to check his progress and so had started slowly for the first kilometre. “But then I realised I was not putting any effort at all and started pulling harder for the remaining laps,” he said. The change was evident in the way he broke away from the rest of the pack to lead by more than 250m by the time he neared the finish line.

“Earlier I used to start my season early and then train quietly before the big events without any competition to actually check myself. This time I have decided to mix training and competition closer to the Olympics. At Paris Diamond League also I will not try to go full out. My main focus during training has been on the final kick and I have learnt from my previous mistakes,” he said confidently.

In high jump, Sarvesh Kushare continued his brilliant season, equalling the six-year-old meet record of 2.25m for a season’s best to further consolidate his position on the Road to Paris rankings (he is currently 29th). In shot put, Tajinderpal Singh Toor went all out in final attempt to take the top spot with 19.93m, then admitted he was still recovering and far from full fitness but insisted he would be ready for Paris. Toor too has qualified through the world rankings quota.