CHENNAI: The World Rowing Asia Oceania Continental Olympic and Paralympic Qualifying Regatta, starting Wednesday in Tokyo, will serve as a precursor to the Olympics that is scheduled in the same city a couple of months later. The event will be staged under strict restrictions with even members from the same team not allowed to interact with each other in person. Similar protocols are likely to be in place during the Games.
“We can only call each other or exchange text messages as we are not allowed to talk,” Jakar Khan, India’s rower who is scheduled to compete in single scull heat scheduled on the first day, told this daily. A 14-member team from India reached the Japanese capital on Friday. Every team member is given a single room with a complete ban on visitors. Participating nations have been given separate slots for dining purposes. “We go to the dining area together but cannot interact with each other as everyone is under surveillance. Even during training, we practise in a staggered manner,” added Khan.
The Indian team includes four male and as many female rowers. The men’s team consists of Khan, Arjun Jat and Arvind Singh while Sunil Attri is kept in reserve. Similarly, the women’s team comprises Khushpreet Kaur, Vindhya Sankat and Rukmani Dangi. Sona Keer will be in reserve. Shantanu Tripathi is the lone Indian rower who will compete in the paralympic event.
The team decided not to carry equipment due to travel restrictions. They instead hired boats and other equipment on Sunday. “They (equipment) are good. Heats in single and double scull will be held on Wednesday. Semifinals and finals will be held on Thursday and Friday,” informed Khan, who is expected to make the Olympic cut. In order to qualify, a rower has to finish in top-5 in single scull while in double scull, a rower has to finish in the top-three.
The Rowing Federation of India (RFI) had a tough time getting the visa process done on time. Special clearances were sought from Japan government for the visas and then the external affairs ministry had to intervene to get the visas from the vendor. The Indian team members spent around five hours at the Tokyo airport completing formalities before venturing out.