[highlights]
Indian middle distance runner Jinson Johnson confidently said that he is very much capable of qualifying for the 1500 meters event at the Tokyo Olympics.
Johnson won a gold medal in 1500m event and silver in 800m, finishing behind compatriot gold medallist Manjit Singh, at the 2018 Asian Games.
“The qualification mark is set at 3:35 for Tokyo but the gold at Rio came in 3:50. The IAAF has made qualifications tougher. Nevertheless, for several years I have been doing things which were not done by my compatriots. I can spring surprises,” he told PTI in an interview in Bengaluru.
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His personal best time is 3:37.86, which he set at Gold Coast CWG, last year.
Johnson further said that he very well understands that IAAF tries to have only 40-45 participants to make the event highly competitive and therefore the qualification parameters for the World Championships and the Olympics are tough.
In the first competition this season, Johnson managed to get qualified for in 1500m at the Asian Championships despite a calf injury and a below-par show at Federation Cup.
I can qualify for 2020 Tokyo Olympics: Jinson Johnson pic.twitter.com/REEEMzpsq6
— Prafulla Chowdhury (@PrafullaChowdh5) May 7, 2019
However, he had to sneak out of Doha Asian Athletics Championships because of his calf injury while competing in the 800m there, which also forced him to stay away from 1500m event.
On this incident, he said that sports is full of ups and downs and he has always performed well in international competitions. Further, he said, “Though I did not get any medal in the 2018 Commonwealth Games, I got the national record in 1500m.”
Johnson has always been a great performer as he says. He participated in the 800 meters event at the 2016 Summer Olympics. In 2018 Commonwealth Games he finished fifth setting a new national record in the 1500 meters race by breaking the 23-year-old record of Bahadur Prasad. Thereby, he looks forward to the Tokyo Olympics.
