Indian rowers put up a disappointing show at the Asian Games 2026, returning with just one medal. Rowing has traditionally been one of India’s strong points at the Asian Games. In fact, the last time India returned with a single medal was in 2002, when the contingent won a solitary medal in the ‘coxless four’ event.
The solitary medal, a bronze, came in the men’s double sculls, but the crew that eventually won it was not the one India had originally planned to field.
ROWING CONTROVERSY AT THE ASIAN GAMES
The 22-member Indian rowing contingent had been training for months ahead of the Asian Games. The team was in for a shock just two days before the start of its competitions, when the coach and the travelling members of the rowing federation informed the athletes that they would not be participating in their usual events.
The Rowing Federation of India decided to reshuffle the crews after a typhoon in Nagoya forced a curtailment of the rowing events at the Asian Games. The federation believed that changing the combinations would maximise India’s medal chances.
However, the late reshuffle raised an important question: Weren’t the best athletes of the category already selected for their disciplines?
Sources said the original double sculls pairing of Kulwinder and Navdeep had struggled to register competitive timings in training and were sidelined without consultation at the eleventh hour.
Sources also stated that the first time the athletes heard about the changes was in front of their rivals, in a public setting where the rowing teams had gathered. The decision left several rowers devastated, with some breaking down after being informed of the changes.
The rowers, the majority of whom were from the Indian Army, considered quitting but eventually decided against it. The prospect of challenging the decision was not in their bones.
“We are army-men sir. What can we do? We do not break a chain of command,” one of the rowers said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Among those affected was Salman Khan, a former cab driver who had taken up rowing in the Indian Army. A quadruple sculls rower, he was asked to partner Satnam Singh in the double sculls, an event in which Kulwinder and Navdeep Singh had originally been scheduled to compete.
In Salman and Satnam’s case, sources said the pair had performed better in training than Kulwinder and Navdeep, prompting the federation to trust them with the task of winning a medal in the double sculls.
“Imagine practising for 7 months straight for your event, only to be told two days before that you have to participate in another discipline,” Salman told India Today after returning to India.
“It came as a shock, and we did not know how to respond,” he added.
Salman was devastated by the decision. He spoke to his wife over the phone over the next two days before eventually deciding to compete. He did not have much choice.
FROM CAB DRIVER TO INDIAN ARMY
Growing up in a farming family in Uttar Pradesh, Salman had already been through the grinder. At 6ft 5in, he had the physique to make it in the Indian Army and had been preparing for the entrance exams. But life threw him a curveball when his father died of dengue in 2016.
Salman, who was 18 at the time, had to abandon his preparation and move to Delhi to make ends meet for his family.
“I bought a Wagon R and drove it for one and a half years. It was the only car in my budget that I could fit in,” Salman laughed.
“I used to earn 35-40k and send it back home. But one of my friends pushed me to pursue the Army exam again. So, I dumped the cab driving, gave my everything to prepare for the written and physical exam. I used to study and run for 7 kms every day,” he added.
Fortunately, he cleared the exams.
Introduced to rowing in the Indian Army, Salman slowly built his career in the sport. Ahead of his first appearance at the Asian Games, he trained for six months without taking a single day of leave.
Salman said he was well prepared and that the quadruple sculls team believed it had a genuine shot at a medal. But that confidence was about to be tested.
THE IMPORTANCE OF ASIAN GAMES
For athletes like Salman, an Asian Games medal can mean far more than a place on the podium. The rewards can bring financial security, while success in the Army can also open the door to promotions and greater social standing.
For Salman, the quadruple sculls represented months of preparation and a genuine shot at a medal. Being told to switch to double sculls just two days before competition meant starting over at the very moment he had expected to put that preparation to the test.
Despite his disappointment, Salman decided to compete alongside Satnam. The two had rowed together in double sculls in training before, but neither was in the right mental space going into the race.
“We are army-men sir. We are not trained to quit. Yes, we were hurt, for ourselves and for our teammates, but we decided to do it for our country. If we stop following the chain of command, what example does that set for others?” Salman said.
On race day, Salman and Satnam gave it everything they had. The circumstances were impossible to ignore, but they channelled their frustration, anger and disappointment into the race. They were even in gold medal contention halfway through the event, but fatigue and the unfamiliar demands of the workload eventually caught up with them.
They finished third, securing a bronze medal for India. It would turn out to be the only medal in the country’s rowing campaign, sparing the contingent from returning empty-handed.
When they came out of the water, both were in tears. The result had brought relief and pride, but celebrating was difficult when they knew what their teammates had gone through.
“We could not even celebrate, you know. How could we? Our joy was built on someone else’s misery. Me and Satnam, we thanked each other. That was about it,” Salman said.
Back home, Salman and Satnam were rewarded for their achievement. Satnam received Rs 50 lakh from the Punjab government, while Salman was awarded Rs 75 lakh by Uttar Pradesh.
Salman said the money was a life-changing sum for someone from his background. The medal also salvaged India’s rowing campaign, which had been left in jeopardy by the last-minute changes.
For Salman and his family, it meant financial security after years of struggle. For the Indian contingent, it meant returning home with a medal when the campaign had threatened to end in disappointment. And for Salman and Satnam, it was a podium finish achieved in an event they had not spent months preparing for, under circumstances they had never anticipated.
Perhaps that is what made the bronze worth its weight in gold.
– Ends
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