Manjit Singh upstaged pre-race favourite compatriot Jinson Johnson to win gold in men’s 800m in as India finished first and second in the event on Tuesday.
The 28-year-old Manjit ran his personal best time of 1 minute and 46.15 seconds to win his maiden major international medal.
Johnson, who smashed legendary Sriram Singh’s 42-year-old 800m national record in June during the National Inter-State Athletics Championships, finished second in 1:46.35. He holds the national record of 1:45.65.
Abdalla Abubaker of Qatar was third in 1:46.38.
Jinson Johnson, who had topped the heat with a timing of 1:47.39, was the pre-race favourite.
Manjit was in fifth place for the majority of the race, while Abubaker was leading Johnson till the 600m mark.
At the final bend, Manjit put in hard strides to go past Bahrain’s Abraham Rotich, followed by Iran’s Amir Moradi. Once he left Johnson was behind leader Abdalla, he took the Qatari out of the picture closer to the finishing line. The top three runners were separated by just 0.23s.
Johnson, who had topped the heat with a timing of 1:47.39, was the pre-race favourite.
At the Federation Cup earlier this year, Johnson and Manjit had finished at the first and the second place, but then Johnson won the gold. Source The Quint
