It's mind over matter for CWG stars
He appears frail, the voice is soft and he seems too shy to look you in the eye. There is nothing that stands out about Avinash Sable. That is, until he steps on the track and transforms into a relentless, unforgiving dreamer in pursuit of history. In Birmingham, he left two Kenyans in his wake and almost reeled in a third to claim the 3000m steeplechase silver at the Commonwealth Games (CWG), the first non-Kenyan to medal in the event since 1998.
He also broke the national record for the ninth time, but is barely satisfied. The medal, Sable reckons, is only an important stop in his larger journey. "Beating the Kenyans is a big confidence booster, but excellence cannot be achieved if you are easily satisfied in your quest," he said on the sidelines of a felicitation by Army chief, Gen Manoj Pande, for athletes from the Indian army who took part in the CWG.
Sable has shaved 18 seconds since he first broke the national record in 2018. But it is the determination to be among the world's best that pushes him.
“That's just how I am. A few years back when I was regularly breaking national records, I started feeling the lack of quality competition. I was restless to make a mark in the world, but people kept telling me it was impossible. The problem with me is I never stop dreaming.”
The belief and ambition that soared among Indian athletes after Abhinav Bindra's epochal gold in 2008 Beijing got a major fillip after Neeraj Chopra's gold at the Tokyo Olympics.
“I want to medal at World Championships and Olympics. I have been thinking about it for a few years. I am not scared to dream big. Whenever someone tells me a particular task is tough to achieve, I become all the more determined to prove myself," Sable said.
Training at altitude in Colorado Springs, US since April alongside US and Kenyan athletes, Sable found fresh momentum. “Foreign athletes would regularly run under 8 minutes 10 seconds in training, and I was able to beat them. That's where the belief started to get stronger."
Weightlifter Jeremy Lalrinnunga, with his flowing, bleached locks and effortless charm, broke the Games record in snatch (140kg), lifted 160 kg in clean and jerk to total 300 kg, another Games record to win the 67kg gold. The 19-year-old has set "315-320kg" as his next target.
"I went into the competition confident I'll break the Games record in snatch, C&J and total. I missed it in C&J. The other target was to lift 315-320 kg. I'll make up on both counts next time," he said.
His best friend Achinta Sheuli (73kg) broke the Games record in snatch (143kg) and clean and jerk (170 kg), lifting a total of 313 kg (Games record) to win gold. Sheuli rates it "good, but not excellent".
"I wanted to go over 320 kgs, but we didn't want to risk the medal," he said. "We are training partners and roommates, and think alike. Our targets are also pretty much the same — Worlds and Olympics," Sheuli, 20, said.
For those who had an underwhelming Olympics, CWG glory afforded only some redemption. Wrestler Deepak Punia (86kg) lost his bronze medal bout at the Olympics, and the CWG gold has done little to assuage him. “I backed myself to win gold at CWG, though the Canadian and Pakistani wrestlers were good. It has given me confidence to do well at the World Championships next month," said the 23-year-old.
His compatriot Ravi Dahiya, who won an effortless 57kg gold, had opined the same before leaving for CWG. Dahiya is already conditioning his mind for the next Olympics, having pasted prints of Paris 2024 gold medal all over his room. "That (Olympics gold) is the ultimate goal. I know I am good enough to win it," he had said before leaving for Birmingham.
Boxer Amit Panghal, who crashed in the first round at the Olympics won his maiden CWG gold (51kg). He too did not want to read too much into the success, despite it being his first gold in any competition in over a year. "It will certainly give me a lot of confidence, but nothing can compensate for what happened at the Olympics. That pain and humiliation cannot be shrugged off easily," he said.
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