‘I have come from the bed to the track’: Avinash Sable turns 14 months of pain into victory

Fourteen months away from competition had taken more than a toll on Avinash Sable’s fitness. It had shaken his belief in himself.

The 31-year-old Indian steeplechase star admitted he had reached a point where he felt like a beginner, unsure whether he could even execute the jumps that once came naturally to him.

On Thursday, he finally had an answer.

Sable returned to his signature 3000m steeplechase event at the Indian Athletics Final Series and won in 8:32.39, marking a significant step in his long road back from a serious right-knee injury.

He finished ahead of Shubham Bhandare (8:50.31) and Vikash Dalal (8:50.43), giving the defending Asian Games champion a much-needed confidence boost with the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games now just 18 days away.

For Sable, the significance of the victory went well beyond the stopwatch.

'I was away from competition for 14 months. I was getting injured again and again. When you are competing after a long time, you get pressure. When you are at the top, you forget everything,' he said.

Sable's difficult spell began in July 2025, when he fell at the water jump during the Monaco Diamond League.

The accident resulted in a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and meniscus injuries in his right knee, forcing him into surgery and a prolonged rehabilitation programme.

The physical recovery was only one part of the battle.

Sable said the repeated injuries stripped away the confidence that had accompanied him through some of the biggest moments of his career.

'It was very difficult for me. I lost all my confidence. I was feeling like a beginner athlete. I forgot everything inside me,' he said.

At one stage, even jumping became a source of fear.

'I was not sure if I would be able to come back. I was not sure if I would be able to jump. I was afraid even to jump from a very short height. I was not confident to keep my legs straight.'

That makes Thursday's victory particularly meaningful for the athlete whose national record stands at 8:09.91.

Sable had already begun testing himself competitively in August, appearing in the 5000m at the IFAM Oordegem meet in Belgium.

But his return to the steeplechase, the event that has come to define his career, was always going to be the bigger test. He passed it.

'I think I have come from the bed to the track and I have motivated myself and I would like to thank the team behind me. In my journey, everyone supported me,' Sable said.

The timing could hardly be more important.

Sable is now preparing to defend the men's 3000m steeplechase gold medal he won at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou. His event at the upcoming Games is scheduled for September 28, leaving him just 18 days to sharpen his fitness and rebuild competitive rhythm.

'I have 18 days left. On the 28th, I have an Asian Games event. I will work hard and will focus on the things that are left in the next 18 days,' he said.

Sable also believes his preparation for the upcoming Asian Games is stronger than it was before the previous Commonwealth Games, while retaining the same ambition to return fully fit and compete for gold.

'In the upcoming Asian Games, I am carrying the same hope that I remain completely fit. I went to the Asian Games during the last Commonwealth Games and my preparation is better than that. I am carrying the same hope,' he said.

He added: 'If I have got this opportunity, then how can I change this opportunity into a gold medal? I feel proud of myself and my country that I have done well.'

In the women's 3000m steeplechase, national record holder Parul Chaudhary also finished first, clocking 9:22.42.

She led from the opening lap but remained some distance behind her national record of 9:12.46.

For Sable, though, Thursday was about something more fundamental than winning a domestic race.

After surgery, rehabilitation, repeated setbacks and months of uncertainty, he had finally returned to the event in which he has built his reputation.

And this time, the biggest hurdle was not the water jump. It was believing he could clear it again.