NEW DELHI: The 26th Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships in Ranchi witnessed Jinson Johnson make a glorious return by finishing first on the podium in the men’s 1500m event. Jinson has been a top-ranked runner in Asia in both the men’s 800m and 1500m disciplines and also holds the national record in both events.
Looking back on his journey so far, Jinson, supported by the Reliance Foundation, said, “My international career, from 2015-18, I performed really well. I won a bronze medal in the national championships and silver in the Asian Championships in 2017. I’d say 2018 was the best performance year of my career. That year, I broke two national records, including a 23-year old record. I won two medals at the Asian Games as well. Now with the Federation Cup, I was pleased to get the win, and it feels good to get some races under my belt after a long time away from the track.”
At a time when he was in the best phase of his athletics career, he suffered an Achilles tendon injury while training in the US. He then sought support of the Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital and Research Centre in Mumbai.
Ronak Hosabettu, lead sports physiotherapist at the hospital who worked with Jinson post his injury and during his rehab, spoke about the intervention made by the Reliance Foundation. “Jinson has been a Reliance Foundation Scholarship Athlete since April 2019 and as with all athletes, we extended our sports science and nutrition support to enhance his athletic performance. In November 2019, Jinson suffered a career-threatening Achilles Tendon injury and he was put under the guidance of the team at the hospital in Mumbai.”
The return was short lived though as the injury relapsed last year. Another extensive process of recovery and rehabilitation followed.
“The team focused on his recovery and a comprehensive and customized rehabilitation plan, which was progressive in nature through the 45 days of the plan and made a successful return to the sport. We have a dedicated team that works with Jinson always, including physicians and psychologists, to support him. Unfortunately, the same injury resurfaced in February 2022. We repeated the same process again and he has made a successful return this year, winning gold in each of his last two competitions.” Ronak added.
The series of injuries may have delayed his wins for a while but the Kerala athlete never gave up and continued working hard. Jinson faced his fair share of challenges with the recurring injuries.
“Consistency in training is the main thing for an athlete. To have that consistency after the comeback from injury was very tough. Once you are down, then coming up is very tough. But I want to come up,” he said.
Jinson is aiming to be back at his best at the Asian Games, where he is the reigning champion in the men’s 1500m event. “I am hoping to perform at my best in the upcoming competitions. I want to win medals at the Asian level and improve my training. My ultimate goal is to win a medal again in the Asian Games for India,” he signed off.
