SINGAPORE — Thineshwaran Krishnakumar must have thought the gold medal was his as he bore down on the finish line during yesterday’s “B” Division Boys 2,000m steeplechase final at the National Inter-School Track and Field Championship.

After all, he led from the start and led by five metres coming into the final stretch of the race at Choa Chu Kang Stadium.

But in a dramatic and unexpected finish, Tan Chong Qi of Raffles Institution defied the odds with a lung-bursting sprint to pip the Bendemeer Secondary runner in the final metre with a winning time of 6 min 46.30 secs.

Thineshwaran finished a mere 0.25 seconds later with a time of 6:46.55, while Edward Lee of St Joseph’s Institution finished third in 6:48.53.

Despite the upset, the result was Bendemeer’s first medal at this year’s championships and Thineshwaran was proud to bring glory to his school, although he acknowledged that his silver medal has taught him a painful lesson.

“This medal is to remind myself that it’s never over until it is,” said the 15-year-old.

“Anyone will feel painful to lose in such a manner. It’s indescribable. One moment you think you’re first and the next moment you’ve let everyone down.

“Expectations were high and I was the favourite today but complacency set in. But of course I’m happy to win something for my school.”

An elated Chong Qi said his win came as an unexpected but pleasant surprise, and it was down to just focusing on giving his all.

“I really just wanted to win. But even if I didn’t, all I wanted to do was to put up my best fight,” he said.

“I stayed close to the frontrunner all the while and although I was quite tired down the final stretch, I channelled whatever I had in me to make that final sprint, and thankfully it paid off.”

CHARLES ONG