Jinson Johnson heaved a sigh of relief rather than being overjoyed with his gold medal show in the 1500m final at the GBK Sports Complex here last night. He was relieved because having been hailed as the hot favourite to win gold in the 800m final a couple of days ago, he had to settle for silver, as compatriot Manjit Singh clinched gold instead.

Yesterday, Johnson clocked 3:44.72 seconds to clinch top spot, ahead of Iran's Amir Moradi (3:45.62, silver) and Bahrain's Mohammed Tiouali (3:45.88s, bronze). Manjit finished fourth clocking 3:46.57s. "I'm very happy with this performance because this is my first major gold medal. This is also the first time that I have participated in two events," said Johnson, 27, the reigning national record holder in the 800m (1:45.65s).