Asian Games | I am happy with my silver in the 800m, says Jinson Johnson
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
“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.
“Two things are there. One, this kind of races are tactical races and often timings of top athletes in big events like
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