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Rowing at the 2023 Asian Games concluded on September 25, and India exhibited strong results at the tournament. While Jakarta 2018 produced a gold medal in quadruple sculls, this year has bettered the number of medals won from 2018 with 2 silver medals and three bronze medals in 2023.
Satnam Singh, Ram Lekh, Jaswinder Singh and Arvind Singh among others, have produced quality performances that have brought in successes in quadruple sculls (bronze), coxless pair (bronze), coxless four (bronze), eight (silver) and lightweight double sculls (silver).
The women's rowing contingent returned without a medal, despite performing well and challenging opponents with ruthless rowing. Women's rowing in India is a growing sport and successes in big events like the Asian Games would help progress the state of the game.
Answering questions at an online press conference by Sony Sports Network ahead of the Asian Games, ex-Indian rower Rohith Maradappa, who is a two-time Asian Games medallist, spoke about his thoughts on the performance of the Indian team and shed light on the growing state of women's sports in India.
"Indian rowing opened India's medal tally at the Asian Games. It was exciting to watch. We got extra media coverage. Rowing is at a different venue because access to water bodies is far away from the city and still we were present in the opening ceremony. The result itself is quite good. While gold is great to have, five medals is no easy feat. Two silver, three bronzes, it's a game that's going in the right direction. Our president, Rajlaxmi Singh Deo, the first women president of an Olympic sports body in India, said that we've really come up in medal tally." he said with pride.
"We've recovered a lot of medals that we lost by small, narrow margins last time in the lightweight eight, despite having the fastest timing. And it was nice to get back those medals. Some medals were lost by a small margin, like the men's four, which was due to a wind issue. So overall a very happy result and there's always space and room to grow." he added.
Rohith Maradappa has championed women's sports for a long time now and talked about how the sport is progressing in terms of inclusiveness and equality.
"In terms of making the sport a more level playing field, it is very important that we have people of all genders come in and play the sport. Women rowing is rather nascent in both the world as well as in India. So, I think we need to give it some time to kind of really flourish. We have plenty of women coming in, especially through the Khelo India program. Lots of women from Bhopal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Orissa are participating. Lots of private centres are coming up. And I think that's a good thing, especially in the private centres, which are really flourishing these days in Chandigarh, Punjab." he said.
"The Olympic Committee and World Rowing together have actually come up with interesting gender equality norms. India has two slots to qualify for the Olympic Games. A couple of slots for both the single and lightweight double are available. But even if two crews qualify after the first crew, it is compulsory that another woman contingent qualifies at the Continental Games as well. For example, last time our single skull had qualified, but because one more woman crew didn't qualify, Arjun and Arvind were able to go. So there are a lot of systemic institutions to get more women to take up the sport." he added.
"I think it's important that as parents, schools, and society, we make sure that more girls are allowed to play sport right from a young age. We have won more Olympic medals as women than men in India. So, it's a testimony to the strength of women in sport. And I think our time will come as the sport matures." he concluded.
"Khelo India, Sports India and the help from the government has been phenomenal in the last two years" - Rohith Maradappa sheds light on the progress made in rowing
Rowing clubs have supported young rowers since the beginning of the sport in India. University rowing, as a springboard to professional success, is an aspect of the sport that has grown significantly in countries like the US and UK. The Khelo India University Games aims to bring the spotlight on that part of the game. Rohith talked about how rowing has grown over the years, thanking the support from the government.
"Khelo India, Sports India and the help from the government has been phenomenal in the last two years. We've had a 15-day national camp in China before the games, which really helped our team acclimatise to the event. In the past, we didn't have that. And we got a lot of international exposure, which is what helped us win those medals. At the top level, we've been getting international exposures through camps, etc. We got practice races too. And at the lower levels, we've had Khelo India and the Khelo University games, which helps bring in youth and makes the sport inclusive for civilians." he said.
With the conclusion of rowing at the 2023 Asian Games, India has added 5 medals to its overall tally of 60 (and counting). The results are a boost and a step up for the sport of rowing, and they will help grow the sport to higher levels. India have breached the 60-medal mark in their tally and will be aiming to cross a 100 medals this time. Asian Games will be telecast on the Sony Sports Network and Sony LIV.
