Games-Steeplechaser Sable conquers fear of hurdles in time for Asian Games title defence

BENGALURU, Sept 16 : India's Asian Games steeplechase champion Avinash Sable had no idea if he would ever compete again after a nasty fall resulted in 14 months on the sidelines and crippling self-doubt.

The 32-year-old won 3,000m steeplechase gold and silver in the 5,000m in Hangzhou three years ago but suffered a serious knee injury at the Monaco Diamond League meet last year and contemplated retirement when psychological issues complicated his recovery. 

"Hurdles scared me," he told reporters at the Sports Authority of India's (SAI) Bengaluru centre earlier this month.

"I was worried hurdles could get me seriously injured again. 

"It felt like I would never be able to return ... I had no confidence at all, didn't know how I would be able to recover."

Sable is no stranger to hardship, having grown up in a quiet farming community nearly 500km from Mumbai where he ran 6km barefoot to school. 

As a teenager he worked in brick kilns and on construction sites with his parents as his family struggled to make ends meet before finding a way out of the grinding poverty by joining the army.

His tough upbringing, however, was no preparation for a long period of inactivity and the slow fight back to fitness after surgery on the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

"It's a really dark time for an athlete when workouts that used to be easy make you feel like you don't know what happened to you," he recalled. 

"I just couldn't run, my fitness was gone ... at one point I thought my career was over."

He started running again last November but a shin complaint forced him to stop training again in May.

"My weight had gone up by four to five kilos during the break," he said. 

"I couldn't eat less because it would affect recovery ... I think