CHENNAI: It has been a rollercoaster of a ride for Avinash Sable since the World Championships in Doha. While many Indian athletes are worried about qualifying for the Olympics, Sable, having already done that, was trying to find a place to prepare for Tokyo in the last few months.
It all started in November when the steeplechaser was set for a training stint in Colorado Springs in the USA along with Jinson Johnson. However, an injury to Johnson ended his hopes of going to the USA. Language barrier and the sub-zero conditions in Colorado were adjudged not suitable for Sable.
In January, the 25-year-old went for a short stint in Morocco to train under Rizqi Boubker. That trip did not go down well with Athletics Federation of India (AFI). Training in Patiala since returning from Morocco, Sable had requested AFI planning committee chairman Lalit Bhanot in mid-February to send him and coach Amrish Kumar to train in Ooty. After almost two weeks, that was granted. Along with Parul Chaudhary and few other athletes, Sable hopes to continue training there until the Olympics.
“It has been four days since I reached Ooty. The high-altitude is very helpful especially considering I am working on my endurance now. I want to stay here until the Games. But I will go by what the federation says. I went to Morocco mainly to have training partners with better standards so that I can push myself. Despite being a short trip, I have benefited a lot from the stint,” Sable said from Ooty.
However, Sable might have to change his location once again. Middle and long-distance foreign coach Ben Green had visited the SAI centre in Bengaluru last week. According to deputy chief coach Radhakrishnan Nair, the Australian is likely to join by the end of the month. However, AFI are yet to decide where Green will be based out of. But Avinash isn’t worried about that and is excited to have another mentor.
“It is really great to have a foreign coach. They point out even the most minute things that we do wrong and that will help in the long run. I will be training under Amrish sir. But it is always good to have more than one person to guide you. Having already qualified for the Olympics, I have less pressure. But that doesn’t mean I am relaxed. Qualification is only the first step. The World Championships gave me an idea about how difficult it can be and there is a lot to work on.”