Satnam Singh and Salman Khan provided India’s only medal in rowing at the Asian Games Thursday, claiming a historic bronze in the men’s double sculls as the country endured one of its poorest campaigns in the sport at the continental event. The Indian pair clocked 6:13.25 to finish behind China’s Yi Xudi and Yide Nie, who took gold in 6:09.37, and Uzbekistan’s Pavel Sorin and Mekhrojbek Mamatkulov, who won silver in 6:10.49.
Satnam and Salman remained in second place until the 1,500m mark before slipping to third over the final 500m, eventually finishing 3.88 seconds behind the Chinese champions. The bronze was India’s first-ever Asian Games medal in the men’s double sculls, but it also proved to be the rowing contingent’s only podium finish at this edition.
Historic bronze amid controversy
The medal came against the backdrop of disquiet within the Indian rowing camp over late changes to crew combinations, with some rowers claiming before the start of the competition that they had been shifted from events in which they were originally entered and reserves had been brought into the main combinations. Satnam and Salman themselves said they had been paired in the men’s double sculls only five days before the event, leaving them with little time to train together.
“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,” Satnam said after the race. “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.”
Satnam, who had won bronze in the men’s quadruple sculls at the Hangzhou Asian Games, also acknowledged his disappointment over the changes to the combinations. “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,” he said.
Salman was more forthright about the impact of the late changes, arguing that more time together could have produced a better result. “Had we trained together longer, we would have won the gold. The Chinese team did not deserve the gold,” he said. “Everything happened suddenly, but there is no point saying all these now. It was not in my hands.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the pair after their bronze-medal performance, praising their coordination and composure. “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,” he said.
Federation defends crew changes
The controversy over the crew combinations had surfaced two days before the rowing competition began Wednesday, with some athletes unhappy over being moved from their originally assigned events. The changes were made after a meeting of team managers of the participating countries on Monday, and while the controversy appeared to have subsided once competition began, some rowers said they were contemplating making a representation to the Sports Minister.
Rowing Federation of India president Balaji Maradapa defended the changes and accused a former coach of “influencing” the athletes. He said the coaching staff had altered the combinations in the interest of the team after the rowing programme was compressed from four days to two because of weather disruptions caused by Typhoon Dujuan.
The solitary bronze meant India equalled its medal returns from the 1982, 1994 and 2002 Asian Games. It represented a steep decline from Guangzhou 2010, when India collected five medals — one gold, three silver and one bronze — and Hangzhou 2023, where the rowers again won five medals, comprising two silver and three bronze.
Near misses for India
India came close to adding to its tally in the men’s single sculls, where Balraj Panwar finished fourth with a time of 6:54.80. Panwar remained second at the 500m, 1,000m and 1,500m marks but slipped out of the medal positions over the final 500m to narrowly miss the podium.
Rohit and Ujjwal Kumar Singh also finished fourth in the lightweight men’s double sculls, while India’s men’s quadruple sculls team ended fifth. In the women’s four, Gurbani Kaur, Aleena Anto, Tendenthoi Devi Haobijam and Poonam finished sixth in 6:55.32, with China taking gold, Uzbekistan silver in 6:38.05 and Vietnam bronze in 6:43.86.
From handball to rowing
For 26-year-old Satnam, the journey to the Asian Games podium began away from the water. A former national-level handball player from Punjab’s Mansa district, 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.
Satnam represented India at the 2018 Youth Olympics, finishing eighth, and later won the men’s single sculls title at the 40th Senior National Rowing Championships. He was also part of India’s gold-winning men’s quadruple sculls team at the Senior Asian Rowing Championships last year, while Thursday’s result gave him his second Asian Games bronze.
Maiden Asian Games medal for Salman
For 28-year-old Salman, Thursday brought his first Asian Games medal after a rowing journey that began in 2018 when 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, beginning a career during which he twice came close to leaving the sport before being persuaded by his coaches to continue.
Salman won gold at the 2022 National Games in Gujarat and was subsequently inducted into the Army Rowing Node, where he trained under senior coach Kudrat Ali. He followed that by winning gold at the Senior Nationals and Open Sprint Nationals in 2023, before combining with Satnam at short notice to deliver India’s only rowing medal at these Asian Games.