Success is not a destination; it is a journey. The rise of Indian rowing has been slow and steady. The latest show at the Guangzhou marks the first instance of India winning gold in this sport at the Asian Games and women rowers returning with a medal. The overall tally of five medals, including three silver, is our best performance in rowing at the quadrennial event and points to improvement since the 2006 Doha Asiad, where India claimed two silver and one bronze medal.
If gold medallist Bajrang Lal Takhar has been a standout performer, Pramila Minz and Pratibha Puhan, who secured third position in the pairs event to secure the first ever Asiad rowing medal by Indian women, have also contributed to elevating the status of their sport in this country. Similarly for veterans Jenil Krishnan and Saji Thomas, winners of two silver medals each — in the men’s coxless fours and men’s eights. While Krishnan, for whom this was his fourth Asian Games, had struck bronze at Busan 2002 and silver at Doha 2006, this was the maiden Asiad medal for Thomas.
New horizons
It is not without reason that chief coach Ismail Baig, the two other coaches with the national team, Binu T and Rateesh Kumar, and Rowing Federation of India (RFI) president CP Singh Deo dream of more success, with the 2012 Olympics being the next target. “Two of our teams qualified for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. We want more teams in the fray at London 2012 and are confident that our women rowers will qualify for the first time,” says Singh Deo.
The RFI chief says the policy of sticking to Indian coaches has paid rich dividends. “Even as other sports bank on foreign coaches, we have always felt that Indian coaches suit us best. Baig is sincere, analytical and one of the best in Asia. Unfortunately, Indian coaches are paid poorly while foreigners get hefty salaries,” says Singh Deo.
Problems persist
Baig, on his part, feels that India could have won more rowing medals at the Asiad, with at least one more gold medal in the lightweight fours. “Our rowers were forced to compete with old boats dating back to 2002 and even these boats arrived in Guangzhou three days late. New boats would definitely have made a difference,” says Baig. Even as the RFI sought better equipment, new boats were lying in Hyderabad waiting for customs clearance. “These boats will now be used at the next major event,” says Singh Deo.
The success story of India’s rowers is about making the most of what is available. So, while the Hussain Sagar might be a polluted lake for many, for the RFI, it is a high-performance training centre. “It is ideal for the training of rowers. Beyond water bodies in Pune and Chandigarh, it is the only lake in the country with a 2,000m rowing course,” says Singh Deo.
Check out the facilities available to the rowers — they stay in mosquito-infested dormitories and have pooled in money to purchase a television set that officials would never have provided them from sanctioned funds.
There is much to complain about, but their motto is: practise hard, win medals, bring glory to the country.
Official apathy
Five years ago, when the Asian Championship was held in Hyderabad, the late Y Rajesekhara Reddy, who was then the Andhra Pradesh CM, promised to set up a rowing academy in the city. “Nobody knows what happened to that plan. We have chosen to forget about it,” says Singh Deo, while pointing out that an academy would make a lot of difference to the sport. “With an academy, we can nurture young talent and produce good rowers. But we are helpless. Nothing has come of our repeated requests,” he says.
Singh Deo feels that India has no shortage of talent when it comes to rowing. “We have promising women rowers in Manipur and Orissa but lack infrastructure and equipment. Look at the Chinese; they are systematic, plan well and spare no effort. That is why they are the best in the world. We need to be like them if we are to show better results. That we still manage to win medals at the Asian level is because of the dedication and determined of our rowers and coaches,” he says.
Modern sport is all about following scientific methods and Baig underlines this point. “We need to be more scientific in our training methods. We need laboratories to periodically test the abilities of rowers and help us monitor their progress. Such facilities would be of great help,” he says. And while Singh Deo says the Sports Authority of India (SAI) provided dietary supplements this time round, rowing being a high-energy sport requiring a high-calorie diet, more funds are needed to support rowers and improve their performance.
Rowing gives India the chance to win gold medals at international level. The RFI, medal-winning rowers and national coaches have no intention of sitting on their laurels. But in the absence of adequate funds and government support, there is little hope of change. As Singh Deo says: “We have to start from scratch for the next Asian Games.”
“What we lack is back-up support like infrastructure. We are still struggling to get basic facilities. Given the same equipment and facilities as the Europeans and Chinese, we can deliver even better results.”
— Bajrang Lal Takhar, Asiad gold medallist
“Other sports bank on foreign coaches but we have always felt that Indian coaches suit us best. Unfortunately, Indian coaches are paid poorly while foreigners get hefty salaries.”
— CP Singh Deo, RFI president
“We need to be more scientific in our training methods. We need labs to periodically test the abilities of rowers and help us monitor their progress. Such facilities would be of great help.”
— Ismail Baig, chief rowing coach
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