Asian Games 2018: Manjit Singh wins Gold, Jinson Johnson Silver in Men's 800m

What's the story?

The Indian medal tally increased by two in Tuesday Night, when both Manjit Singh and Jinson Johnson won a medal in Men's 800m. Johnson won the Silver medal, while Singh won the Gold.

In case you didn't know...

The 2018 Asian Games are currently underway in Indonesia. For the first time in the history of the Games, they are being co-hosted by two cities - Jakarta and Palembang.

And it is in those two cities, where the Indian contingent is stationed for the past ten days. In that period, India has accrued a total of Forty-Five medals.

The heart of the matter

To everyone's shock, India has achieved a one-two finish in the Men's 800m Final. Manjit Singh finished first and won the Gold medal, while Jinson Johnson won Silver. Manjit clocked 1:46.15 seconds to win the gold, with Jinson finishing just 0.20 seconds behind as he clocked 1:46.35 seconds. It was truly a magical moment for both the Indian athletes as they celebrated the incredible feat together.

India's Manjit Singh, India's

Jinson

Johnson (2nd and 3rd from left) run towards glory!

Previously in the Games, Singh and Johnson's athletics' peers have been making India extremely proud. The number of medals won by the track and field Athletes has been completely unprecedented. In fact, Athletics has contributed to Eight out of the forty-five medals in India's medal tally.

Tajinderpal Singh Toor kicked off the flurry three days before by winning the Gold medal in Shot Put. The 23-year-old not only managed to finish top of the rankings but also broke the Games Record in the process.

Hima Das, Muhammed Anas, and Dutee Chand followed, with all three Athletes bagging Silver in their respective events. Neena Varakil, Sudha Singh, and Dharun Ayyasamy later repeated the same feat.

Finally, flag-bearer Neeraj Chopra proved his credentials when he absolutely destroyed his competition to win the Gold medal. Chopra also threw his Personal Best, breaking the National Record in the process.

Manjit Singh and Jinson Johnson were up next. Both had qualified for the final after a string of good performances.

What came next shocked everyone. Not only did Johnson manage to win the Silver medal, Singh went one better and won the Gold!

For much of the race, Qatar's Abubaker Abdalla led the pack. However, both Johnson and Singh turned on their thrusters in the final 300m, with Singh coming in from the fifth position to finish first.

What's next?

In what proved to be a true shocker, Manjit Singh and Jinson Johnson grabbed two more medals for India.

Athletics has been the best sport for the country in the Games so far. Here's hope that it continues to do so in future events as well.