Manjit Singh secures gold for India: Asian Games 2018
Manjit Singh won the gold medal in men’s 800-metre event on Tuesday. Jinson Johnson also bagged the silver medal in the event. This raised India’s total medal tally to 49. This includes 9 gold, 18 silver and 22 bronze medals.
Manjit Singh finished the race in 1:46.15 minutes. Second-placed Jinson Johnson finished in 1:46.35 minutes. Qatar’s Abdalla Abubaker came third with a time of 1:46.38 minutes.
Early on, Manjit Singh was trailing behind. But he sprinted at a high speed during the end game. Johnson, on the other hand, kept a steady pace throughout the race. This brought him the second place. silver medal.
Manjit was never considered to be a serious contender for the gold medal. Johnson was much more likely to win. But Manjit surprised everyone speeding through Johnson to grab the first position. India’s last gold in men’s 800m was won Charles Borromeo in 1982 Asian Games.
It was India’s only second one-two finish in 800m at the Games. The last instance was when Ranjit Singh and Kulwant Singh achieved the feat at the inaugural edition held in New Delhi in 1951.
Manjit was coached Indian Army’s Amreesh Kumar. Manjit said that others did not give him a chance but he was determined to prove his worth. “I saw videos of my races at national and international competitions and analysed the mistakes. I was motivated to improve myself.” Manjit added,”I was very hopeful. I had prepared accordingly. I never thought of bettering the national mark. I just wanted to give my best. I don’t have a job but my coach is from the Army.”
Johnson said that Manjit performed in outstanding fashion. He deserved to win. “He really ran well that’s why he finished first. he was outstanding,” the silver medallist claimed.
Manjit Singh from Jind and Jinson Johnson from Kerala achieved yet another feat of history in the Asian Games 2018. This year seems to be a red-letter year for India.
