New Delhi: Indian steeplechaser Avinash Sable failed to finish after suffering a bad fall in the under-23 200m event of the Monaco Diamond League on Saturday. While Sable failed to move ahead, Animesh Kujur continued his remarkable run by ending a creditable fourth.
Sable, who is an Olympian and national record holder, was expected to finish in top-five in his favourite 300m event but suffered a fall that resulted in visible discomfort quite early in the race. The reigning Asian champion limped off the track but the extent of his injury is yet not know.
The 30-year-old steeplechaser has qualified for the Tokyo World Championships in September but has not been in his best touch in this year. He finished 13th and 8th in his previous two Diamond League appearances.
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Avinash Sable gets DNF at the #MonacoDiamondLeague as he is unable to finish his race after a bad fall at a water jump.
Just not his day!#IndianAthletics
pic.twitter.com/PZYwDvIlpr— The Bridge (@the_bridge_in) July 12, 2025
Soufiane el Bakkali wins the race
Soufiane el Bakkali of Morocco was pronounced the winner of the race with a time of 8:01.18 seconds while Ryuji Miura of Japan came second clocking 8:03.43 in a field of 19 runners. Kenya’s Edmund Serim was third with a time of 8:04.00 seconds.
Meanwhile, Indian Kujur came up with another inspired showing in the Under-23 200m event, clocking 20.55 seconds. Australia’s teen prodigy Gout Gout blazed to the top spot with 20.10 seconds. Botswana’s steeplechaser Busang Collen Kebinathshipi (20.28s) and South Africa’s Naeem Jack (20.42s) completed the top three finishes.
Kujur, who holds the Indian national record in the 200m at 20.32s, has emerged as one of the country’s brightest sprint hopes in recent months. Earlier this season, he also clocked 20.27s in Geneva – the fastest 200m ever run by an Indian.
(With PTI inputs)