India gets its own Johnson, fast enough for an Olympic gold An Olympic gold: Jinson Johnson won gold in the men's 1,500m at the Asian Games on Thursday. His timing (3:44.72 minutes) would have won him a gold in the Rio Olympics as well — US' Matthew Centrowitz's won the event in 2016 in 3:50.00. Curiously, Johnson ran even faster in Commonwealth Games this year (3:37.86, a national record), yet finished 5th. Elijah Motonei Manangoi of Kenya won gold in 3:34.78 there. The 'Michael Johnson' India has been waiting for? Too slow for final: India won gold in the 4x400 women's relay in 3:28.72 yesterday. That time wouldn't have qualified them for the Rio Olympics final. The relay team comprised Hima Das, Poovamma Machettira, Saritaben Gayakwad and Vismaya Koroth. Silver, not silver lining: Indian men's 4x400 relay team finished behind Qatar (3:00.56) to claim a silver in 3:01.85. They wouldn't have qualified for the Rio final, where the US won gold in 2:57.30. Nevertheless, it was better than India's actual performance at Rio: a disqualification. More of the same: And the previous day's winners? Arpinder Singh's triple jump gold-winning 16.77m would have placed him 8th in the Rio final. Manjit Singh (800m gold, 1:46.15) would be last in Rio. Dutee Chand (two silver; 23:20 in 200m, 11:32 in 100m) was too slow to qualify for the Rio finals. Tejinderpal Singh Toor (gold, 20.75m in shot put) would be 6th in Rio. Comparing the point-based heptathlon is not straightforward, yet Swapna Burman's 6026 for gold was less than the worst in Rio. In Chopra, there's hope: Neeraj Chopra, who won gold on Wednesday with an 88.06m throw in javelin, would have won a bronze in Rio Olympics. Chopra is only 20, and is still improving — he would be a strong contender for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

2. What's an Asian Games medal worth? Is Neeraj Chopra's javelin gold better than the one Jinson Johnson will bring home? For India, a gold is a gold. For the players, may be not. The award money announced for the medal winners makes it a virtual rate card that varies from state to state. West Bengal government announced a cash award of Rs 10 lakh and a government job for Swapna Barman, who won India's first-ever Asian Games gold medal in heptathlon. Gold winning shot-putter Tejinderpal Singh Toor, who set a new national record too, is still waiting to hear from the Punjab government after the CM's congratulatory tweet. Haryana will be giving away Rs 3 crore for gold medals, Rs 1.5 crore for silver and Rs 75 lakh for bronze medals. Plus, there's a promise of a job too. Odisha government announced a cash award of Rs 1.5 crore for sprinter Dutee Chand, who blazed the track to win silver medals in women's 100m and 200m races. Tamil Nadu is giving a cash incentive of Rs 30 lakh for Rajiv Arokia, member of India's silver medal-winning 4x400 mixed relay team, and Dharun Ayyasamy, who won the silver medal in the 400 metre hurdles. It will give away Rs 20 lakh each to three table tennis players of the state for winning bronze medals. Bottomline: A gold is a gold only in Jakarta, when it comes to India it may be worth less than a bronze if you don't belong to the right state.