Asian Games: Rowing camp in turmoil over last-minute crew changes

There is unrest at the Indian rowing camp at the Asian Games as some players say they have been shifted from the events they were initially entered in and reserves have been included in the first team as the competitions begin on Wednesday.

One rower said he was moved from his pet event and replaced by a reserve player. He said this was after a meeting of the team managers of the various participating countries on Monday.

Another rower said the players, who had either been dropped or moved on to other events, were “very upset” and had not taken food following the development earlier in the day.

“Some of the rowers have not yet taken the food because they are in an agitated mental state. They don’t know what to do,” a rower told PTI on condition of anonymity.

An official who monitors the progress of the rowing team confirmed that some players are not at their best mentally.

“It’s very sad, but it’s not rosy in the rowing team,” he said.

It has been learned that 2022 Asian Games silver medalist Arvind Singh, who was scheduled to compete in the single sculls, has been shifted to the 400 sculls. Balraj Panwar, who was in the foursome of skulls, was reassigned to the lone skull.

Saurav Kumar and Vipul Satish were supposed to be the men’s doubles first team, but they should be replaced by Nitin Kumar and Jaswinder Singh. Reserve player Jasmail Singh is expected to be named in the skipperless four.

Navdeep Singh and Kulwinder Singh are set to move from double skull to quadruple.

According to a senior rowing official, 50 per cent of the crew can be replaced in the event of a medical emergency, but the players say it was a complete change.

RIDING EVENT POSTPONED DUE TO APPROACHING TYPHOON DUJUAN

Organizers of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Monday postponed the equestrian event in Tokyo until Tuesday due to the approaching Typhoon Dujuan.

Organizers have released an updated schedule with dressage and eventing starting on Tuesday.

AICHI-NAGOYA’S FIRST CASE OF DOPE GAMES

Meanwhile, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) on Monday announced the first drug case of the Asian Games after a Thai badminton player tested negative for the banned substance furosemide. It was temporarily suspended with immediate effect.

The International Testing Agency is the OCA’s testing and results management body at the Asian Games.

“The sample was collected from Thai badminton player Pitchamon Opatniputh during an out-of-competition doping control on September 17 in Nagoya,” the OCA said in a statement.

The athlete has yet to compete in any event at the Asian Games and is scheduled to compete in the women’s team quarterfinals on Tuesday.

“Furosemide is prohibited under the WADA Prohibited List as an S5 diuretic and masking agent. It is prohibited at all times (in and out of competition) and is classified as a specified substance. Furosemide may be used by athletes to excrete water for rapid weight loss,” the OCA said in a statement.

“The Athlete has been informed of the incident and has been provisionally suspended with immediate effect until the matter is resolved in accordance with the World Anti-Doping Code and the OCA Anti-Doping Rules. This means that the Athlete cannot compete, train, coach or participate in any activity during the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games.”

The athlete has the right to challenge the imposition of a temporary suspension at the Court of Arbitration for Sports Anti-Doping Division. The athlete also has the right to request an analysis of the B-sample.

– The end

Issued by:

Amar Panicker

Published on:

21 Sep 2026 21:43 IST