SOURCE :- SIASAT NEWS
Nagoya: Satnam Singh and Salman Khan’s double sculls bronze turned out to be the saving grace as the embattled Indian rowing team produced one of the worst performances in the Asian Games’ history here on Thursday, September 24.
The duo’s bronze was India’s first-ever men’s double sculls medal at the continental games.
Rowing competitions were introduced in the 1982 Asian Games, and India won the most medals in the last edition in Hangzhou — 2 silver and 3 bronze. India had won four medals in 2010, including one gold, while the 2018 edition yielded three podium finishes, including one gold.
This edition’s performance equalled that in the 1982, 1994 and 2002 editions.
The Indian pair stayed in second place until the 1,500m mark before slipping to third in the final 500m, clocking 6:13.25 at the Nagaragawa International Regatta Course.
China’s Yi Xudi and Yide Nie won the gold medal with a timing of 6:09.37, while Uzbekistan’s Pavel Sorin and Mekhrojbek Mamatkulov claimed silver after clocking 6:10.49.
The Indian duo finished 3.88 seconds behind the gold medallists.
PM Modi lauds duo
Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the duo after their bronze-winning feat at the games.
“A fine performance by Satnam Singh and Salman Khan in the Men’s Double Sculls, earning India a well-deserved Bronze medal. Their composure and coordination stood out. May this achievement inspire them to scale even greater heights in the years ahead,” the prime minister tweeted.
Satnam, who had won a bronze at the Hangzhou edition in the men’s quadruple sculls, thus added another Asian Games medal to his collection.
“I feel very proud because India had never won an Asian Games medal in the men’s double sculls, and now I have been part of winning that first medal,” said Satnam after the event.
Satnam addresses controversy
On the controversy surrounding the rowing team, he said, “I am sad about what happened with my partner (old partner). We had a chance for a better medal, but the decision has already been made and cannot be changed now.”
“We only came together in the men’s double sculls five days ago. I feel proud that, after only five days together, we have managed to win an Asian Games medal in this event.”
There was disquiet among the rowers two days before the start of competitions on Wednesday, September 23, with some of them claiming that they have been shifted from the events they were originally entered and reserves have been included in the first team.
The changes were made after the meeting of the team managers of different participating countries on Monday, September 21.
Another rower said that the players who have been either dropped or shifted to other events are “very disturbed” and have not taken food after the development earlier in the day.
The controversy seemed to have died down as the rowers competed on the first day of events on Wednesday, but a few players said they were contemplating making a representation to the sports minister.
Rowers contemplate submitting complaint to sports minister
Even as rowing competitions began on Wednesday, at least two rowers said that some players are mulling making a complaint to the sports minister once the contingent returns to India.
Rowing Federation of India (RFI) President Balaji Maradapa, on his part, accused a former coach of “influencing” the athletes. He also said that the changes in the crew members were made in the interest of the team by the coaches after the duration of the rowing competition was compressed to two days from four due to weather disruptions caused by Typhoon Dujuan.
Earlier, India narrowly missed out on another rowing medal when Balraj Panwar finished fourth in the men’s single sculls final, clocking 6:54.80.
Panwar stayed in second place at the 500m, 1,000m and 1,500m marks but slipped to fourth in the final 500m.
India’s last single sculls medal in 2014
China’s Deng Zhiwei won the gold medal, finishing in 6:38.98, while Panwar was 15.82 seconds behind the winner.
The lightweight men’s double sculls duo of Rohit and Ujjwal Kumar Singh also finished fourth with the men’s quadruple sculls team ending fifth.
India’s last Asian Games medal in the men’s single sculls came at the 2014 Incheon Games, when Sawarn Singh won a bronze.
Bajrang Lal Thakkar remains the only Indian to win gold in the event, claiming the historic title at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games.
In the women’s four final, India’s Gurbani Kaur, Aleena Anto, Tendenthoi Devi Haobijam and Poonam finished sixth in 6:55.32, 20.45 seconds adrift gold medallists China. Uzbekistan (6:38.05) won silver and Vietnam (6:43.86) bronze.
In the lightweight men’s single sculls Final B, Ajay Tyagi topped the 7-12 classification race in 7:01.54.
From courts to water
For 26-year-old Satnam, the journey to the Asian Games rowing podium began away from the water.
A former national-level handball player, he took up rowing around eight years ago after being inspired by Olympian Swarn Singh Virk, who won gold in the men’s lightweight double sculls at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia.
Hailing from Punjab’s Mansa district, Satnam quickly emerged as one of India’s promising rowers.
He represented India at the 2018 Youth Olympics, finishing eighth.
He later won the men’s single sculls title at the 40th Senior National Rowing Championships, becoming the first Indian Navy rower to claim the coveted event.
Satnam was also part of India’s gold-winning men’s quadruple sculls team at the Senior Asian Rowing Championships last year.
A first for Salman
For 28-year-old Salman, who won his maiden Asian Games medal, the rowing journey began in 2018 after he joined the Bombay Engineering Group of the Indian Army.
Coaches Satywan, Satish Siraat and Prabhat Mishra introduced him to rowing and selected him for the centre’s team.
He went on to represent his battalion and compete in inter-centre championships.
Salman twice came close to giving up the sport, but his coaches encouraged him to continue. He won gold at the 2022 National Games in Gujarat and also claimed the indoor national title the same year.
He was subsequently inducted into the Army Rowing Node (ARN), where he trained under senior coach Kudrat Ali.
In 2023, Salman won gold at the Senior Nationals and the Open Sprint Nationals.
SOURCE : SIASAT
