Manjit Singh surprised the field and everyone watching to lead an Indian 1-2 in the Men’s 800m race at the Asian Games on Tuesday. While Manjit took the gold with a timing of 1:46.15, Jinson Johnson took the silver clocking 1:46.35 seconds.
Manjit had qualified for the final as the eighth fastest athlete. He had finished the semi-final with a time of 1:48:64 and if anything, India’s hopes were shouldered by Jinson Johnson, who had won his semi-final heat.
The race started in much the same way. Jinson sat on the shoulders of the leaders for much of the first lap. Qatar’s Abubaker Abdalla and Abraham Rotich (the pre-race favourite) were at the head of the pack.
The first lap was completed in less than 60 seconds – a fast pace even by World standards. At this point, Manjit was still nowhere in the picture.
As the runners entered the second lap, Abdalla and Rotich raised the pace and tried to break away from the group. They managed to do that as well. But Jinson and Manjit managed to stay in the leading group.
But Manjit was still just one of the runners. As the runners neared the last 100m, a sprint for the finish line broke out. The fast pace combined with the humidity meant that the leaders tired and Manjit somehow raised his game and brought his unused stamina into the picture.
He moved into the outside lane and first ran past Rotich, then came shoulder-to-shoulder with Jinson and finally spurted past Abdalla to win a most unexpected gold – India’s first in the event since 1982 Asiad when Charles Borromeo won the event. The last Indian medal in the event had come in 2002 through KM Binu.
Manjit Singh was fourth at the Asian Athletics Championships in 2013 and second behind Jinson at the Federation Cup and the Inter-State Championships.
Jinson, perhaps spurred by his teammate, also edged Abdalla at the line to make it a glorious 1-2 for India. Abdalla finished with a bronze and Rotich, who runs 1:43s, eventually finished in fifth position.
