India, Sept. 6 -- Since July 2025, Avinash Sable and his dream to retain the Asian Games 3000m steeplechase gold were living in different houses. Delicate fitness following a surgery to repair Sable's torn ACL and meniscus was the biggest impediment in their reunion, forcing him to even skip the recent Commonwealth Games.

Instead, he trained at a high-altitude facility in Ooty, then went to Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS) in Bellary, Karnataka, before turning up at Sports Authority of India (Southern Centre) here for sessions in the Smart Track. The sum total of that nearly eight months of intense training is the belief in Sable's mind: "I went to the Asian Games in 2022. I have the same level of fitness now. I can repeat my performance...