India’s 3000m steeplechaser Avinash Sable opened his season with a 13th-place finish at the Diamond League Meeting, clocking a modest 8 minutes 22.59 seconds in a top-class field here on Saturday. Sable was behind the leading pack throughout and finished at the rear with 16 runners completing the race. The 30-year-old national record holder was competing for the first time since the Diamond League Final in September last year, where he finished ninth with a time of 8 minutes and 17.09 seconds. His national record stands at 8:09.91.

Samuel Firewu of Ethiopia caused a major upset as he beat the reigning Olympic and world champion Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco for the top spot, clocking 8:05.61. El Bakkali crossed the finish line in 8:06.66. Simon Kiprop Koech (8:07.12) of Kenya was third.

Sable, who has finished 11th at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games with a time of 8:14.18, will compete in the next DL Meeting in Shanghai/Keqiao on May 3.

He has already qualified for the World Championships in September in Tokyo on the basis of the Paris Olympics timing.

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