PALEMBANG: Om Prakash and Sawarn Singh topped Heat 2 in men's doubles sculls while Dattu Baban Bhokanal was second in Heat 1 of singles sculls in the rowing competition of the 18th Asian Games here today.
Prakash and Sawarn, who won a singles sculls bronze in Incheon Games four years ago, clocked 7:10.26 to emerge the fastest ahead of the Japanese pairing of Yamao Keita and Kuribara Tomokazu, who recorded 7:12.70.
Bhokanal was not at his best in the single sculls and finished second with 8:09.21 behind Japan's Ryuta Arakawa, who recorded 7:56.08.
The Indian, who qualified for Rio Olympics, has been consistently clocking around seven minutes in the last one month.
In the men's pair heats, Malkeet Singh and Gurinder Singh were third fastest in Heat 1 with 7:37.20, behind the Chinese pair of Li Xiaoxiong and Zhao Jingbin (7:30.14), and Uzbekistan's Alisher Turdiev and Sardor Tulkinkhujaev (7:33.48).
Sanjukta Dung and Harpreet Kaur disappointed in women's pair Heat 1, finishing fifth and last with 9:02.88.
The quartet of Bhopal Singh, Jagvir Singh, Tejash Hanamant Shinde and Praney Ganesh Naukarkar were fourth fastest with 7: 01.20 in the lightweight four heats.
Teams from China, Indonesia and Uzbekistan were first, second and third fastest respectively.