Asian Games: Avinash Sable becomes first Indian man to win 3000m steeplechase gold

Avinash Sable decimated the field of men's 3000m steeplechase to win the gold medal at the ongoing Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou, China, on Sunday.

By winning the gold medal, Avinash became the first-ever Indian man to win the gold medal in the event. India has won 11 medals in this event across categories with Sudha Singh winning the only gold at the 2010 Asian Games.

Commonwealth Games silver medallist Avinash clocked 8:19.50 seconds to clinch the top position in the event and opened India's gold medal account in athletics.

Avinash Sable shattered the previous Asian Games record of 8:22.79s set by Hossein Keyhani of Iran in the 2018 Asian Games.

Making his debut at the continental showpiece, Avinash started the race with a lead of more than 30m and kept the lead throughout the race.

After crossing 2000m in the race, Sable separated from the group and went on to the finish line with a lead of more than 100m as the other finishers were not even in the frame.

With this gold medal, Avinash has shrugged off the disappointment from the World Championships in Budapest where he failed to qualify beyond the heats.

This is India's fourth medal in athletics as Kartik Kumar won silver in 10000m while Gulveer Singh and Kiran Baliyan won bronze medals in 10000m and women's shot put respectively.