Avinash Sable finishes creditable 5th in Xiamen Diamond League meet, qualifies for finale

Xiamen (China): India’s Avinash Sable finished a creditable fifth in the men’s 3000m steeplechase event of the Xiamen leg Diamond League Meeting on Saturday to qualify for the grand finale in Eugene, USA later this month.

Olympic and world champion Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco won the race with a time of 8:10.31, while Samuel Firewu (8:11.29) of Ethiopia and Amos Serem (8:14.41) of Kenya were second and third respectively.

Sable, the 2022 Commonwealth Games silver medallist, collected four points from the race for a total of 11 points from four events this season. He qualified for the September 16 Diamond League finals in Eugene, USA, at sixth place. This will be his maiden Diamond League final appearance.