National record holder Avinash Sable failed to live up to expectations as he finished 10th in the 3000m steeplechase event at the second leg of the prestigious Diamond League meeting series here.
The 28-year-old Sable, a 2022 Commonwealth Games silver medallist, clocked 8:17.18s, nearly six seconds off his national mark of 8:11.20s in his season-opening race of his pet event on Sunday.
Eighteen runners started the race but only 14 could finish it.
Host country’s world and Olympic champion Soufiane El Bakkali clocked a world leading and personal best time of 7:56.68s, the all-time eighth fastest of the event, as his ferocious pace destroyed the field.
Ethiopia’s Getnet Wale and Kenya’s 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Abraham Kibiwot were distant second and third respectively with personal best times of 8:05.15s and 8:05.51.
Sable struggled to keep up with the pace and he found himself along with the trailing pack, though he clocked his fourth career-best time.
Last year, he had clocked 8:12.48s for a fifth-place finish at the same event here.
Meanwhile, 18-year-old Selva Prabhu Thirumaran bettered his own junior national record in triple jump with a performance of 16.78m en route to winning gold in the World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze level meet at Venizeleia-Chania in Greece.
Thirumaran’s earlier junior national record of 16.58m was set in a meet in Havana, Cuba, earlier this month. He had won a silver in the U-20 World Athletics Championships last year.
National record holder Jeswin Aldrin finished fifth in long jump with a best effort of 7.66m at the same meet on Sunday. Aldrin’s national record stands at 8.42m.
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