Steeplechase champ sorry for flag drop!

India’s Avinash Sable with his men’s 5,000m silver medal in Hangzhou yesterday. Pic/PTI

Maharashtra's army man Avinash Sable added a silver to his previous steeplechase gold at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre on Wednesday. Yet, had to apologise moments later after he was unable to catch the Indian flag thrown at him immediately after the win. It so happens that whenever any Indian athlete finishes a race in the top three here, bagging a medal, one of the team coaches, seated in the stands near the finishline, throws them a flag to pose for photographs.

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Avinash Sable celebrates his 5000m silver medal yesterday. Pic/PTI

In the case of Sable though, when the flag was thrown to him immediately after the race, it fell short, and gasping for breath, he was unable to rush to catch it and it fell to the ground. The soldier in him immediately came to the fore and he rushed forward, picked up the flag and kissed it with his eyes shut, before holding it up for the crowd.

"I'm very sorry for not being able to catch the flag. I'm a soldier and I should never let my flag fall. At the army, we are taught that we should even die for our flag happily, if need be, but here I was just too tired to go ahead and catch it at that moment and it fell," said Sable after clocking 13:21.09 to finish second behind Bahrain's Yemataw Balew who set a new Games record of 13:17.40 for the gold.