Unheralded Manjit outshines Jinson to win third athletics gold

TIL Desk Sports/ Little-known Manjit Singh stole the limelight by leading a rare one-two for India in the men’s 800m before the country was awarded a silver in the 400m mixed relay which made its debut at the Asian Games, in Jakarta, on Tuesday.

Manjit was not a much-talked about medal prospect in the build up to the Asian Games but he brought home the third gold for India after shot putter Tejinderpal Singh Toor and javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra’s heroics. The jobless Manjit pipped pre-race favourite and national record holder Jinson Johson to take the gold in 1:46.15.

 Jinson, who beat Manjit while shattering legendary Sriram Singh’s 42-year-old national record in the National Inter-State Championships in June, clocked 1:46.35. It was India’s only second one-two at the Asian Games as Ranjit Singh and Kulwant Singh had won a gold and a silver at the inaugural edition in New Delhi in 1951. Manjit’s gold was also the first after Charles Borromeo’s feat in the 1982 Asian Games.