‘Olympics delay is a blessing in disguise’

Sable says he hopes to cover all bases and improve his timings before Tokyo

November 30, 2020 10:10 pm | Updated 10:29 pm IST - CHENNAI

Runner with a mission:  Avinash Sable is determined   better his endurance levels as he prepares for the Olympics.

Runner with a mission: Avinash Sable is determined better his endurance levels as he prepares for the Olympics.

Avinash Sable, who smashed the National record while winning the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon gold among Indian elite runners on Sunday, has set the tone for next year’s Tokyo Olympics.

Having clocked 1:00:30sec at the event, Sable said he wanted to test his endurance level for the Tokyo Games.

“I wasn’t doing any special preparations for the half marathon. My focus has been the Olympic Games and since I haven’t had any chance to compete this year, I participated in the ADHM to test my endurance level and to get back into a competitive frame of mind. As I had started training just 15-20 days before the event, it felt great to break the National record,” said Sable.

No visit to home

Sable, who has been training with coach Amrish Kumar in Bengaluru, hasn’t visited his home for over four years and has decided to do so only after the Olympic Games.

Speaking about the training during the lockdown, Sable said, “The initial few days were a little troublesome, but after realising that this thing is going to last long, I started training again. I decided not to go home as it becomes challenging to get back into the rhythm after a long break. So, whenever I got time here [Bengaluru], I started training and tried to keep up my fitness.”

The 26-year-old, who earned the Olympics berth last year, feels the postponement has been a ‘blessing in disguise’ as he now has more time to improve his timings.

“Initially, I thought I would go to the Olympics and give it my best. I just wanted to get done with it as quick as possible. But the delay has turned out to be a blessing in disguise as I have realised that it’s a great chance for me to cover all bases before heading to Tokyo,” said Sable.

“In terms of timing, I was way far from the world-level, but the delay has helped me grow and improve on various aspects of this sport. Now, I’ll go to compete, not only to participate, and I am hopeful of getting good results,” concluded Sable.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.