World Athletics Championships 2019: Avinash Sable says hard work led to Olympics berth in 3000m steeplechase

Doha: Avinash Sable, who qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in men’s 3000m steeplechase event, is ecstatic on achieving the feat, for which he worked “really hard”. [caption id=“attachment_7456391” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Avinash Sable become first Indian after 1952 to qualify for Olympics in Steeplechase. AP[/caption] “I am feeling very happy after qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. I came into this tournament with the aim of qualifying for the event. I have worked very hard for achieving this. My coach helped me in my training,” Sable told ANI. Sable has become the first Indian after 1952 to qualify for the Olympics in this event. Sable’s coach Amrish Kumar said that he could have qualified for the event in the first round only, but the luck did not go his way. “We could have qualified for the Olympics in the first round, and if we would have done so, then we would have fought for the top six in the second round. He is the first Indian to qualify for the Olympics after 1952. It is a very happy moment for us,” Kumar said. Sable demolished his own national record for the second time in three days though he finished 13th in the final race of the World Championships in Doha. He clocked 8 minutes 21.37 seconds to breach the Olympics qualifying standard of 8:22.00.