Indian rowing has been thrown into uncertainty on the eve of the Asian Games, with leading men’s rowers threatening to skip Tuesday’s training session and go on strike after the team management made a series of late changes to the crews.
The changes were made on Monday, just two days before the rowing competitions are scheduled to begin on September 23. The events were initially scheduled to start on September 20 but were postponed because of the impending Typhoon Dujuan along the Pacific coast.
According to media reports, the team management altered several entries following Monday morning’s training session. Rowers were moved between events, while a reserve was also brought into the team.
The reshuffle has resulted in several significant changes across the men’s events.
Navdeep Singh and Kulwinder Singh, who had been entered in the men’s double sculls, have been moved to the quadruple sculls. Salman and Satnam, who were part of the quadruple sculls, have been shifted to the double sculls.
Balraj Panwar has moved from the quadruple sculls to the single sculls, while Arvind Singh has been moved out of the single sculls and into the quadruple sculls.
There have also been changes in the men’s pair and coxless four. Vipul Ghurde has been moved from the men’s pair to the coxless four, while reserve Saurav Kumar has been dropped from the event. Jasmail Singh, who was a reserve, has been brought into the coxless four.
Nitin Kumar and Jaswinder Singh, meanwhile, have been moved from the coxless four into the men’s pair.
The last-minute changes come after India’s performance at the World Championships immediately before the Asian Games.
A senior rowing official said that 50 per cent of a crew can be changed in the event of a medical emergency. The rowers have questioned the changes made in the absence of such an emergency.
With the rowing competition now only two days away, efforts are underway to resolve the dispute and ensure that India’s preparations remain on track.
India won five medals at the 2022 Asian Games, including two silver and three bronze.