India’s rowing campaign at the ongoing Asian Games in Hangzhou, China received another boost as Balraj Panwar, representing the country in men’s singles sculls, reached the final A in his category on Friday. Balraj finished third in the semi-final A/B2 of his category with a timing of 7:22:22. Sports Authority of India shared the news of Balraj’s performance through their X account handle.
Rowing events at the Asian Games 2023 will be held from September 20 to 25 at the Fuyang Water Sports Centre in Hangzhou. The Indian Men’s Lightweight Double Sculls duo of Arjun Lal Jat (bow) and Arvind Singh (stroke) made it to the Final A with the timing of 6:55.78, topping the Repechage 1 in the 19th Asian Games on Thursday. Arvind and Arjun Lal clocked at 6.55.78 and displayed their determination by securing the first position in the Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls event in Rowing. The duo jumped into an early lead and never let go of it until the finish. Japan finished second with the timing of 7:05.91 while the Philippines secured the third position by clocking 7:10.97. In Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls, Arjun and Arvind topped the repechage race and entered the Final A, which will be played on Sunday.
Meanwhile, India got another FA beside its name on the roster. Satnam Singh (bow) and Parminder Singh top the leaderboard. Iraq (also marked an FA finish), Hong Kong China, Sri Lanka and Kuwait were the others in the field. The Indian duo of Satnam and Parminder clocked 6.48.06 to finish first to qualify for the final in Double Skulls. India has won 23 medals in rowing so far in Asian Games history, consisting of two gold, five silver and 16 bronze medals.
