Manjit, Johnson make it rare 1-2 in men’s 800m
JAKARTA: MANJIT RAN HIS PERSONAL BEST TIME OF 1 MINUTE AND 46.15 SECONDS TO WIN 800M; MIXED RELAY TEAM ALSO WINS SILVER BEHIND BAHRAIN
Manjit Singh upstaged pre-race favourite compatriot Jinson Johnson to win gold in men’s 800m in a 1-2 finish for India in the athletics event 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-yearold 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.
In the mixed 4x400m relay, India finished with a silver medal with a timing of three minutes, 15:71 seconds behind Bahrain (3:11.89). Kazakhstan (3:19.52) won the bronze.
DUTEE MAKES 200M FINAL
Dutee Chand set herself up on course for a second Asian Games medal after qualifying for the women’s 200m final but Hima Das suffered a heartbreak as she was disqualified for a false start.
Dutee, who won a silver in women’s 100m dash, stormed into the final by winning the semifinal in personal best time of 23:00 seconds, which was faster than her qualification round timing.
Dutee was in third position in the beginning but made up in the last 50m stretch to edge out Edidiong Odiong (23.01) and Lingwei Kong (23.32). Hima, the silver medallist in the women’s 400m, lined up for the semifinal heat number two but had to make a premature exit due to a false start.
Dutee was faster than Hima in the qualifying, clocking 23.37, compared to 23.47 of the latter.
In the National Inter-State Championships in June, Hima had won the 200m gold in 23.10 ahead of Dutee, who had clocked 23.41.
Meanwhile, Xie Wenjun successfully defended his 110m hurdles gold at the Asian Games Tuesday to stretch China’s winning streak in the race to 32 years -- with a little help from hurdling great Liu Xiang.
Xie, 28, crossed the line in 13.34sec to hand China its ninth consecutive win in the event stretching back to the 1986 Games in Seoul.
After a slow start he overtook silver medallist Chen Kuei-ru of Taiwan at the final hurdle, when his rival appeared to stumble.
“I feel awesome now. The pressure is released,” said Xie. “This medal is a very important medal not just for me but also Chinese hurdling, because it has been kept for a long time.”
Xie said he had been given “special instructions” before the race by former Olympic champion and world-record holder Liu, who is revered as one of China’s greatest ever sportsmen.