A rowing success

In the serene waters of the Beizhi River, which houses the Fuyang Water Sports Centre, a new-look Indian rowing contingent embarked on a mission to eclipse their predecessors' performances.

With every choreographed stroke of determination and an unwavering team spirit, they have not only navigated past the disparate challenges of their sport, but also have propelled India to new heights on the continental stage in a remarkable tale of fortitude and strategic development.

Rowing in the Hangzhou Asian Games was a six-day event, with medals on offer in 14 categories, seven in each gender. The Indian contingent of 29 took part in 10 events.

Indian male rowers secured medals in five of the seven events they participated in. The pair of Olympians Arjun Lal Jat and Arvind Singh secured silver in the men’s lightweight double scull (LM2X), the team of eight, comprising Charanjeet Singh, DU Pande, Naresh Kalwaniya, Neeraj, Neetesh Kumar, Ashish, Bheem Singh, Jaswinder Singh and Punit Kumar won silver in the men coxed eight (M8+).

Ashish, Bheem Singh, Jaswinder Singh and Punit Kumar won bronze in the men coxless four (M4-), while Parminder Singh, Satnan Singh, Jakar Khan, Sukhmeet Singh won bronze in the men quadruple skulls (M4x). The duo of Babu Lal Yadav and Lekh Ram secured bronze in the men coxless pair (M2-) category.

Arvind Singh, a silver medallist in Hangzhou, told DH: "Winning the medal was a delight. This is the first medal India has won in LM2X and we helped open the tally with a bang. It is not just our efforts, but of the Army, Federation, SAI, TOPS and government support."

On how his and Arjun Lal Jat's experience played a role, Arvind added, "Barring China, we were able to consistently monitor and beat the other front-runners for a medal, and that was down to mine and Arjun (Lal Jat)'s experience only as we had beaten them in previous Asian Games and Olympics."

"Our true test is the Olympics, there are five single scull and three double scull lightweight quotas for Asia and Oceania, and we are hopeful of qualifying.

"Rowing as a sport is played consistently in India only in the army. If it is thought to civilians, more interest can be generated and no doubt increase the medal output," Arvind opined.

Rowing has always resulted in a steady stream of medals for Indians in the Asian Games, but the current squadron were notably in a period of transition.

The antics in Hangzhou proved that rowing is on an upward trajectory, and a net fifth place finish could be an inflection point in the sport. In Jakarta, India finished sixth overall. The current crop also equalled India's Guangzhou Games rowing tally, but missed out on a couple of medals and medal improvements through sheer bad luck.

Take the tale of Satnam Singh. Taking over the oars from Olympian Swarn Singh Virk in the single sculls and being the first rower from the Navy to win the nationals, Satnam paired up with Parminder Singh – the son of Busan Asian Games medal winner Inderpal Singh – in the double skulls.

The duo had the finish line in sight with 300m to go, and were sitting comfortably in second place when Satnam stopped rowing suddenly after pulling a nerve in his neck. The hapless pair watched on as the rest of the participants sailed past.

Not one to be perturbed, Satnam showcased his resolve by immediately jumping back into action following a brief visit to the hospital. Satnam and Parminder joined Sukhmeet Singh and Jakar Khan for the Quadruple sculls and steamed away to an impressive bronze.

China beat the men's coxless four quartet to silver by a mere 0.78s in the men’s four event, due to a late crosswind resulting in the ores getting stuck in the buoy. Balraj Panwar, a last-minute entry to the single sculls, finished a promising fourth.

Phasing a race is a key aspect in rowing, and the Indians learnt it the hard way in the double skulls. They implemented a much more conservative strategy to good effect in the quadruple sculls. 

Ismail Baig, national rowing head coach who has been at the helm since 1999, has been a constant presence across transitions and is the strategic mind behind the nation's ascent in rowing. 

"Most of the male rowers are from the Army, Navy and other armed forces," begins Baig. "Discipline and hard work come naturally to them. Rowing is an endurance sport, but strategy also is important. Our best plan is what we have in our capacity and gained through training."

China swept the rowing tallies in their home games, and coach Baig offered his opinions on the reasons behind their dominance. "China's rowing background is much stronger than any other Asian countries. Being an equipment-based sport, rowing is expensive and not as popular as other sports in India.

"It is difficult for private bodies to manage rowing as a sport. What we have today is just the government and army backed support. We need open water body courses for training. The course in Pune (Army rowing node) is specially designed for major competitions, and we are proud to have it."

Like any coach worth his salt, Baig felt that his team could have done better in Hangzhou, but underlined the steady improvements and the road ahead.

"I am frankly not fully satisfied. We missed one medal and one colour change, otherwise it was a good result. Our target was five medals and we achieved that. We are improving step by step, but the gold is a little away from us. Hopefully we will be there in the coming years.

India’s Arjun Lal Jat and Arvind Singh wave Indian tricolours as they stand at the podium after winning silver medal in Men’s Light-weight Double Sculls at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou China Sunday Sept. 24 2023.

"We will work on Olympic qualification next after the Goa National Games and a small break."

Former national rower Rohith Maradapa underlined the magnitude of the relatively inexperienced rowers' display this Asian Games.

"Usually our rowers in big events have 10+ years of experience, but this time our senior rower had just four years of experience. Within our small talent pool, that we are able to bag so many results with limited funding is a testament to how quickly the Rowing Federation of India has been able to nurture talent."

"Rowing Federation of India has Rajlaxmi Singh Deo, the first woman president of an Olympic sports body in India, who is in her third term. She has a knack for picking up talented stars.

"Resurgence happens with consistent leadership from the top. There is good communication with the rowing federation of India, the states and army bodies," added Maradapa, a two-time Asian Games medallist.

While the male rowers impressed, the women rowers fell short in their medal quest. Maradapa calls for patience and outlines the need for more private rowing centres.

"Women’s rowing has been included in world rowing only since 1975, the talent pool is young and rather nascent in India. The base of the sport has to be widened and there is a lot of push coming in from private rowing centres."

While consistency in important roles has been a solid anchor, this successful voyage, marked by synergy, sweat and sacrifice, can be attributed to factors which have coalesced to create a fertile landscape for even more potential growth.

Watch Asian Games at Sony Sports Network