Asian Games 2018 | Manjit Singh wins India’s first 800m gold since 1982

Manjit had qualified for the final as the eighth fastest athlete. He had finished the semi-final with a time of 1:48.64 and if anything, India’s hopes were shouldered by Jinson Johnson, who had won his semi-final heat.

The race started in much the same way as Jinson sat on the shoulders of the leaders for much of the first lap. Qatar’s Abdalla and Abraham Rotich, the pre-race favourite, were at the head of the pack.

As the runners entered the second lap, Abdalla and Rotich raised the pace and tried to break away from the group. On the other hand, Manjit and Jinson managed to stay in the leading group.

But Manjit was still one of the runners. As the runners neared the last 100m, a sprint for the finish line broke out. However, Manjit somehow raised his game and brought his unused stamina into the picture.

Manjit ran as hard as he could and in the end went past Abdalla to win a most unexpected gold, with a timing of 1:46.15 while Jinson came second with a timing of 1:46.35 just ahead of Abdalla (1:46.38).