Doha: India's Avinash Sable, who became first Indian to qualify for the Olympics in men's 3000m steeplechase event after 1952 Helsinki Olympics, is ecstatic on achieving the feat, for which he worked "really hard."
"I am feeling very happy after qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. I came into this tournament with the aim of qualifying for the event. I have worked very hard for achieving this. My coach helped me in my training," Sable said.
Sable's coach Amrish Kumar said that he could have qualified for the event in the first round only, but the luck did not go his way.
"We could have qualified for the Olympics in the first round, and if we would have done so, then we would have fought for the top six in the second round. He is the first Indian to qualify for the Olympics after 1952. It is a very happy moment for us," Kumar said.
Sable demolished his own national record for the second time in three days though he finished 13th in the final race of the World Championships in Doha.
He clocked 8 minutes 21.37 seconds to breach the Olympics qualifying standard of 8:22.00.
