Jinson Johnson is the reigning king of Indian middle-distance running.
Over the last few months, he has claimed two of the longest standing Indian athletics records. At the Commonwealth Games in April, he shattered a 23-year-old record in the men's 1500m, while this Wednesday at the Inter State Championships in Guwahati, he claimed a 42-year-old record in the men's 800m.
Since the most recent record, his phone has been buzzing incessantly -- as well it should -- with calls and messages from well wishers.
"Bahut pending chal raha tha yeh record (This record had been pending since a very long time). People were saying there was no growth in Indian athletics because of which the record was just not getting broken. This record was very important for the sport," says Sriram Singh, who had set the old 800m record at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal.
Expectations from the 27-year old from Kozhikode will only increase in the leadup to the Asian Games. His season's best timing of 3:37.86 seconds in the 1500m and 1:45.65 in the 800m are the fastest in Asia this year, leading to hopes that he could finish at the top of the podium.
It's a good place to be in. It's also a far cry from the frustration he might have felt just a year back when he was without the guidance of a coach, with recurring injuries further holding him down. Back in June last year, Johnson was training on his own in Ooty after his long-time coach Kunhu Mohammed had been assigned to coach the Indian 400m squad in Patiala.
He had tried to continue as best he could, following training programs sent over WhatsApp, but it was a difficult time. "I was doing what I could but I was making mistakes and I didn't know how to correct them. And because I was training incorrectly, I was getting injured in my calves," he says.
At the Inter State Championships last year Johnson clocked a less-than-impressive 1:47.38 in the 800m. At the Asian Championships, he ran even slower -- taking a bronze in 1:50.07 seconds.
The results were particularly galling, for Johnson had clocked 1:45.98 seconds the previous season, a result which saw him qualify for his maiden Olympic Games. For a large portion of his career, his goal had simply been to qualify for the quadrennial event. Having achieved that career-first, his target had been to break the national record. Yet, as his performances slid, that mark seemed to be slipping further away.
It was only in September last year that he began working with a coach once again. JS Bhatia, a former Dronacharya awardee, was more than sure he would recover lost ground. "I told him he would get the national record within three races. Johnson has everything - he had speed and he had endurance. The only thing he lacked was a systematic training pattern. Once he had that, everything fell into place," says Bhatia.
The coach's prediction has proved accurate in both of Johnson's events. At the Asian Games Test Event in January, Johnson ran the 800m in 1:47.63, which he improved to 1:46.32 at the Federation Cup, before his history-making run in Guwahati.
Few doubt that Johnson can improve on his timings. "Firse tutega (The records will break again). Johnson clearly had a lot more strength towards the end of the race," says Sriram. The two-lap 800m race is a tactical contest with the runners alternately hedging between drafting behind the race leaders in order to conserve energy for a final kick, and at the same time not getting blocked by runners and leaving the final rush too late. In Guwahati's race, Johnson began to kick ahead after just 300m of the race. That meant that although he didn't have any other runners to get around, he also wasn't benefiting from any sort of pace setting or drafting. "He made it easy for the other runners (even fourth-place finisher Beant Singh managed to run the fastest time by a junior athlete) but there was no advantage for himself," says coach Bhatia.
Having reset the longest standing of records, it remains to be seen whether Johnson can improve it further. If he doesn't, it might not be because of a lack of desire. "Johnson is good in both the 800m and the 1500m but he has a lot more potential for growth in the 1500m. He has been with me for only around a year so I am letting him train in both the 800m and 1500m but at some time he will have to chose to specialise in a single event," says Bhatia.
With the uncertainity over Johnson's future in the 800m, the Asian Games will carry additional significance. Where better to improve on the record than at the Asian Games itself?
"The old goal was simply to get the record. Now that is done. So now it is to improve on that mark," Johnson says.