"In the future, we will go to the Olympics with hopes of winning medals, and will return after winning some" - Avinash Sable
Steeplechaser Avinash Sable has predicted a bright future for Indian athletics, especially at the Olympic Games.
India's first appearance at the modern Olympic Games came in 1900 when the then British-ruled country had representation from just one athlete - Norman Pritchard. He took part in five events in athletics, finishing second in two of them - Men's 200m and Men's 200m hurdles.
Since then, however, India had to wait until the 2020 Tokyo Olympics for another medal in Athletics, when Neeraj Chopra clinched gold in the javelin throw.
Avinash Sable, the Indian track and field athlete who specializes in 3000m steeplechase, is however, confident that the country has a bright future in athletics.
"I feel that there is nothing that is too difficult for us to accomplish. It's not just Steeplechase, the standard of track events in Athletics has gone up quite a bit now," he said at an eventoconducted by the Athletics Federation of India.
The 29-year-old also said that the country has gone from viewing Olympic qualification as a tough task to having medal contenders at various editions recently.
"Earlier we used to think that qualifying for the Olympics was a big task. Now, our athletes are qualifying for the event and in the future, we will go to the Olympics with hopes of winning medals, and will return after winning some," he added.
Avinash Sable heads to Asian Games 2023 with hopes of winning an elusive Asiad medal
Avinash Sable will be eager to do well at the 2023 Asian Games after failing to qualify for the 2018 edition of the event in Jakarta.
Sable has had a few decent performances this year. At the Silesia Diamond League in July, he finished in sixth place. He did slightly better at the Xiamen Diamond League in September, finishing fifth. Having opted to skip the Diamond League final in Eugene earlier this month, he will head to Asiad well-rested and raring to compete.
The much-awaited Asian Games are scheduled to get underway in Hangzhou, China, on September 23. India is sending a 655-strong squad for the event, with athletics making up the largest contingent (68).