Asian Games | I am happy with my silver in the 800m, says Jinson Johnson

09/03/2018

Despite losing the gold medal to Manjit Singh in the 800m event, Jinson Johnson was glad to land a silver in what he considers his 'pet event' at the Asian Games. In the event, Manjit ran a personal best, clocking 1:46.15s to bag the gold, while Johnson took 1:46.35s to finish second.

As Johnson considered 800m his 'pet event’, he stated that he would have loved to bag a gold in the event. However, he was content with the fact that the gold and silver came to two Indians. He added that he was happy for Manjit’s achievement and mentioned that he has been his main competitor in most of his recent tournaments.

“I felt a bit tight at the final stretch and could not preserve myself for a final burst which Manjit did. But it is all right, I am happy with my silver in the 800m,” Johnson told PTI.

“Yes, 800m is my pet event and definitely I would have loved to win gold in it. So, in a way I am disappointed but I am happy that two Indians won gold and silver instead of other countries winning them.

"Moreover, I am not surprised at all that Manjit won the gold as there is no big difference in timing between him and me. In the past few years, in the National Championships, he has been my main competitor. I knew if I can win, he (Manjit) can also win."

He also mentioned that while running in both 800m and 1500m event, he was only thinking about securing a win, rather than improving his overall timing. While he participated in the National Inter-state Championships in Guwahati in June, he broke the 42 year old previous record of Sriram Singh. Having clocked 1:45.65s, he bettered the old record of 1:45.77s.

“Not exactly. At this big stage, anybody can win any race. I was not thinking particularly about Manjit but was thinking about all the other competitors, that nobody should overtake me (in 1500m). The conditions were not perfect in Jakarta and I was more of thinking of winning the race than improving my time,” he said.

Jinson said that he is hopeful of recording a better timing at the IAAF Continental Cup in Ostrava, Czech Republic, scheduled to take place in September. Two top athletes from Europe, Africa, Americas and Asia-Pacific region will be eligible to compete in this tournament. Jinson will be running for the Asia-Pacific team and said that it wouldn't be right to compare the timing of his 1500m event to that of Rio Olympics gold medal winning time record.

“Two things are there. One, this kind of races are tactical races and often timings of top athletes in big events like Olympics or World Championships may be below par. So, it is not appropriate to compare these timings,” Johnson said.“Secondly, when you run in an Olympic final race, you don’t think about timings, you think about winning gold or other medals. If timing is good in the process that is well and good. If you see the timing of the semi-finals (in 1500m in Rio Olympics) the timings were world class, around 3 minutes 40 seconds,” said Jinson who won the 1500m gold in the Asian Games with a time of 3 minute 44:72 seconds."

Asian Games | I am happy with my silver in the 800m, says Jinson Johnson

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