Nagoya, Sept. 24 -- 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. 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 2010 Guangzhou and 2023 Hangzhou editions. India had won five medals in 2010, including one gold, three silver and one bronze. The number remained the same in 2023 but there was no gold in the tally as the rowers logged two silver and three bronze medals. The 2018 Games yielded three podium finishes, including one gold. This edition's performance equalled that of the year 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. 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.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.