CHENNAI: Terming them a family of rowers will not be an exaggeration. This family of four will be in focus once again when the 2021 Asian Rowing Championships begins in Thailand on December 9 giving two of its members - Parminder Singh and Avinash Kaur - an opportunity to make their international debut. The duo had earlier competed at the indoor international rowing events and pocketed medals as well.
Father Inderpal Singh, India's first rowing Olympian (2000 Sydney Games), will witness the moment from sidelines as he would be with the team as a coach. Mother Sukhjinder Kaur, who had also won medals in the amateur international regatta, however, will keep herself updated with the children's progress back home at Bilaspur (Haryana). "We discuss rowing even at the dinner table," 21-year-old Parminder told The New Indian Express from Pune where he is camping with the Indian team.
The Indian contingent comprising 24 members (10 men and 6 women rowers) will take part in the championships. The first batch consisting of 11 members including Avinash and Inderpal have reached the venue while the remaining rowers and support staff are scheduled to fly out on Tuesday. Parminder competes in single sculls while Avinash's event is quadruple sculls.
Despite his father being a rower, Parminder didn't take up the sport professionally till 2018. He though was learning the skills but the objective behind it was to keep his weight his check which was around 116-117 kgs three years ago. "The medals our rowers won in the 2018 Asian Games inspired me to take up the sport professionally. Even my father was surprised when I told him about it. Then I won medals and created an Asian record at the 2019 Asian Indoor Championship which gave me recognition. Soon after I was selected for the national camp," informed the rower.
He might have found a place in the camp but Parminder was nowhere close to other rowers given his fitness. It was the first lockdown in March 2020, which gave him an opportunity to work on his endurance and fitness and return stronger. "We came back home during the first lockdown. I worked hard on my fitness then by doing weight training, running regularly and following a proper diet chart advised by a nutritionist. I lost around 20 kgs in two months and when I returned to the camp I started finishing second among eight or nine campers," added Parminder.
While Parminder was in Pune, sister Avinash and father Inderpal were with the women's team at SAI centre in Jagatpur, Odisha. "Every day I used to speak to my father and give him updates. Being his son is an advantage as he knows everything about me and he gives me tips accordingly."
Parminder, who has been camping for the past two years, hopes his first international event will help him assess his progress, which in turn will keep him in a good stead for the upcoming events including the Asian Games.
Start delayed
The races, which were scheduled to begin on December 8, will now start a day later. The change was made after the Rowing Federation of India and its counterpart from Uzbekistan requested the organisers to delay the start.
"Our second batch leaves on December 7. As per the protocols, they have to undergo COVID test and will be allowed to move around bubble and train after returning negative. This whole process takes around 24 hours, which is why we requested the organisers to delay the start and they have agreed," Rajlaxmi Singh Deo, RFI's president, told The New Indian Express.