Acontroversy has emerged in the Indian rowing camp at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya after several last-minute changes were made to the crews, with some rowers reportedly threatening to skip training.
The changes were made on Monday, two days before the rowing competition begins on Wednesday. The rowing events were originally due to start on 20 September but were postponed following the threat posed by Typhoon Dujuan.
According to a PTI report, several rowers were shifted from the events in which they had originally been entered, while reserve athletes were brought into the first teams. The development left some athletes distressed, with one rower telling PTI on condition of anonymity that some players had not eaten after learning of the changes.
“Some rowers have not taken food yet as they are in a disturbed state of mind. They are not knowing what to do,” the rower said.
An official tracking the situation also told PTI: “It is very sad, but things are not rosy in the rowing team.”
Major changes within rowing team
Among the major changes, 2022 Asian Games silver medallist Arvind Singh was moved from the men’s single sculls to the quadruple sculls, while Balraj Panwar was shifted from the quadruple sculls to the single sculls.
Navdeep Singh and Kulwinder Singh, who were originally entered in the men’s double sculls, were moved to the quadruple sculls. Salman Khan and Satnam Singh, originally part of the quadruple sculls, were moved into the double sculls.
There were also changes involving the men’s pair and coxless four. Saurav Kumar and Vipul Satish were set to compete in the men’s pair but were replaced by Nitin Kumar and Jaswinder Singh. Satish was moved to the coxless four, while reserve Jasmail Singh was brought into that crew.
The extent of the changes has become a point of contention. A senior rowing official told PTI that regulations allow 50% of a crew to be changed in the event of a medical emergency. The rowers, however, have questioned the scale of the alterations in the absence of such an emergency.
The changes came shortly after India’s participation in the World Championships, which preceded the Asian Games.
A separate report by The Indian Express said some leading rowers had discussed going on strike and not training on Tuesday. A source cited by the newspaper said efforts were underway to resolve the situation and added that the management’s intention was to field the best possible teams.
“Some of the rowers said they would go on a strike. There are efforts going on right now to sort out the situation and ensure the practice session takes place as scheduled tomorrow,” the source told IE.
India won five rowing medals at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, comprising two silver and three bronze medals.