Jakarta: Unheralded Manjit Singh scorched the track and upstaged pre-race favourite Jinson Johnson to win gold as India achieved a rare one-two in men's 800m at the Asian Games here 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 800-m 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. India's last gold in men's 800m was won by Charles Borromeo in 1982 Asian Games. It was India's only second one-two finish in 800m at the Games since Ranjit Singh and Kulwant Singh achieved the feat at the inaugural edition held in New Delhi in 1951.
While others did not give him a chance, Manjit said he was determined to do 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, who lives in Jind, said.