World 3,000-metre steeplechase silver medallist Conseslus Kipruto of Kenya believes the Beijing World Championships in August will provide the right platform to silence his critics.
"It has been painful to watch as others compete. I picked up my injury in Brussels Diamond League in 2013 and have been in-and-out of the country seeking treatment," Kipruto said on Monday, reports Xinhua.
"It has taken a year or so to heal and in November, it was fully healed. But I refused the urge to return back to the deep end in training and wanted to come back slowly. I am now ready for the season and the target is to claim gold in Beijing."
His frequent trips from Kenya to Amsterdam in search of medication caused him to miss the cross-country season and he does not rue his omission from the Kenya team to the World Cross Country Championships in Guiyang, China on March 28.
"Kenya has good distance runners. The only thing I miss is I never got the chance to train on endurance but I will recover that as I start my build up towards Beijing Worlds. I started training from December 2014. However, I didn't want to risk straining it again," Kipruto added.
Trained by former 800m World Champion Alfred Keter, Kipruto is certain he will rule the water and barrier race. However, he still has to win a slot in the Kenya team in the trials in June.
"That is no problem, I will take the challenge in my strides. The focus is firmly on winning gold in Beijing," he said.
Kipruto announced his arrival on the international stage in 2011, then just 17, when he won the 2,000m gold at the World Youth Championships. He returned a year later and won gold in Barcelona's World Junior Championships and believes he is ready for the big challenge in Beijing.
