Satnam Singh, Salman Khan Win Historic Asian Games Bronze

Satnam Singh and Salman Khan provided a rare bright spot for India’s embattled rowing team by winning a historic bronze medal in the men’s double sculls at the Asian Games on Thursday.

The duo secured India’s first-ever medal in the men’s double sculls at the continental event, but their achievement was accompanied by mixed emotions over last-minute changes to the crew combinations.

India finished with a time of 6:13.25, slipping from second to third in the final 500 metres. China’s Yi Xudi and Yide Nie won gold in 6:09.37, while Uzbekistan’s Pavel Sorin and Mekhrojbek Mamatkulov took silver in 6:10.49.

The Indian pair finished 3.88 seconds behind the gold medallists.

The bronze proved to be the saving grace for an Indian rowing campaign that otherwise produced one of the country’s weakest performances at the Asian Games.

Historic Bronze Amid Crew Controversy

Satnam and Salman remained in second place until the 1,500-metre mark before being overtaken in the final stretch.

The pair had come together in the men’s double sculls just five days before the competition, following last-minute changes to the Indian rowing team’s boat combinations.

Satnam, who won bronze in the men’s quadruple sculls at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, expressed pride at becoming part of India’s first medal-winning men’s double sculls crew.

“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,” he said.

However, he also expressed disappointment over the changes.

“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,” Satnam said.

“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.”

Salman echoed those sentiments, suggesting that more time together could have improved their performance.

“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.”

Last-Minute Changes Spark Discontent

The Indian rowing team faced disquiet two days before the start of the competition, with some athletes claiming they had been moved from their originally assigned events and reserves included in the main team.

The changes followed a meeting of team managers from participating countries on Monday.

The controversy appeared to subside when the rowers began competing on Wednesday, although some athletes were reportedly considering submitting a representation to the sports minister.

Rowing Federation of India president Balaji Maradapa accused a former coach of influencing athletes and defended the changes as being in the team’s interest.

He said the coaches had altered the crew combinations after the competition schedule was compressed from four days to two because of weather disruptions caused by Typhoon Dujuan.

India Miss Out On More Medals

India narrowly missed another podium finish when Balraj Panwar came fourth in the men’s single sculls final with a timing of 6:54.80.

Panwar remained second at the 500m, 1,000m and 1,500m marks before slipping to fourth in the final 500 metres.

The lightweight men’s double sculls pair of Rohit and Ujjwal Kumar Singh also finished fourth, while India’s men’s quadruple sculls crew ended fifth.

In the women’s four final, Gurbani Kaur, Aleena Anto, Tendenthoi Devi Haobijam and Poonam finished sixth in 6:55.32, trailing gold medallists China by 20.45 seconds.

Uzbekistan won silver in 6:38.05, while Vietnam claimed bronze in 6:43.86.

India had enjoyed stronger campaigns in recent editions, winning five medals each at the 2010 Guangzhou and 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games. The 2010 tally included one gold, three silver and one bronze, while the Hangzhou haul comprised two silver and three bronze medals.

This year’s performance matched India’s medal record from the 1982, 1994 and 2002 editions.

Satnam Singh: 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 drawing inspiration from 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, before winning 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.

The Asian Games bronze added another continental medal to his growing collection.

Salman Khan Wins Maiden Asian Games Medal

For 28-year-old Salman, the bronze marked his first Asian Games medal.

His rowing journey began in 2018 after he joined the Bombay Engineering Group of the Indian Army.

Coaches Satywan, Satish Siraat and Prabhat Mishra introduced him to the sport and selected him for the centre’s team.

Salman twice considered quitting rowing, but his coaches encouraged him to continue.

He 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.

In 2023, Salman won gold at the Senior Nationals and Open Sprint Nationals.

His partnership with Satnam has now brought him a historic Asian Games medal, even as India’s rowing campaign ended amid questions over team selection and last-minute changes.