Asian Games 2026: Indian Rowers Face Upset Over Crew Changes
A disagreement has arisen in the Indian rowing team at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya due to last-minute changes in the rowing crews. Some rowers have reportedly threatened to skip training as a result.
The changes were announced on Monday, just two days before the rowing events are set to begin on Wednesday. The competition was initially scheduled for September 20 but was postponed because of Typhoon Dujuan.
According to reports, several rowers were moved from their original events, and reserve athletes were brought in to replace them. This decision has caused distress among some team members, with one anonymous rower stating that some players have refused to eat due to the stress.
An official familiar with the situation described the atmosphere as “sad,” noting that things are not going well for the rowing team.
Notable changes include:
– Arvind Singh, a silver medalist from the 2022 Asian Games, was moved from men’s single sculls to quadruple sculls.
– Balraj Panwar shifted from quadruple sculls to single sculls.
– Navdeep Singh and Kulwinder Singh were moved from men’s double sculls to quadruple sculls.
– Salman Khan and Satnam Singh switched from quadruple sculls to double sculls.
Other changes involved the men’s pair and coxless four. Saurav Kumar and Vipul Satish, originally set to compete in the men’s pair, were replaced by Nitin Kumar and Jaswinder Singh. Satish was moved to the coxless four, while reserve Jasmail Singh joined that crew.
The extent of these changes has sparked debate. A senior official explained that regulations allow up to 50% of a crew to be changed in case of a medical emergency. However, no such emergency exists this time, leading rowers to question why so many changes were made.
The changes came after India’s participation in the World Championships, which took place before the Asian Games.
A separate report mentioned that some top rowers discussed going on strike and skipping training on Tuesday. Efforts are being made to resolve the situation to ensure training continues as planned.
India won five rowing medals at the 2022 Asian Games, including two silver and three bronze medals.