NAGOYA: It indeed was a heady mix.
One, a former Uber driver; another, a farmer. Both started rowing because they had nothing better to do. Because of providence or destiny — nobody really knows — they became the first Indians to medal (bronze) in double sculls at the Asian Games. The circumstances through which they won it make their story more fascinating.
No food, no sleep, emotionally drained and depressed, the two were in the waters on Thursday only for the love of the country.
“Singh and Khan won a medal for India, this is what the country will remember,” said Satnam Singh, still rubbing his moist eyes more than half an hour after the double sculls race. The shuffle just days ahead of the Games had backfired, and there was a complete breakdown of trust between the Rowing Federation of India, its coaches and the rowers. This is one of the worst performances of the rowers in Asian Games. The team had won five medals at the last edition and this time this bronze was the only consolation.
During an extremely labour-intensive activity like competitive rowing, the heart rate can go up to 200 or more. When the finish line is in sight, the muscles can begin to scream from the aches and the soreness. It's when the whole body goes into overdrive, with the heart pumping more blood, all in the pursuit of a dream.
Satnam Singh fell, as did Salman Khan. Satnam was panting and breathing heavily, words barely escaping his mouth. “Gold chala gaya,” he said, sobbing endlessly between vigorous panting. And the only thing on their minds was their teammates’ traumatic last few days. Esprit de corps, they say. Extreme moments of pain and trauma have brought the entire team together.
“Medic, medic,” one of the officials yelled as Salman was struggling to stand due to exhaustion and buildup of lactic acid in the legs. Somehow, he managed to walk with the help of officials standing at the entry point of the sprawling rowing arena at the Nagaragawa International Regatta Course on Nagara river.
As they walked to the team tent before the medal ceremony, they hugged and cried. They had been to hell and back. “Yesterday also we could not eat,” said Salman. The only reason why they continued rowing was for the country. “We row for the country,” said Satnam. The bronze is even more remarkable because they came together only five days ago.
“The hardest thing was that we were removed from quad (sculls) and placed in doubles,” said Salman. “We were in depression; we didn’t eat or drink or sleep that night. We were harassed. We didn’t sleep. Had no recovery. The next day we woke up and felt that what matters most is our country and the flag. We have to keep it high. Whatever happens later, happens later.”
Satnam said that before he sat in the boat, he had told everyone, “either Satnam comes back behosh (fainted) or with a medal around the neck.”
They kept talking about ‘Ismail sir’, ‘our CO’ and support from SAI and TOPS but there was no mention of the federation. The last-minute change of boats had left the entire team broken. The medal came as a balm, at least for now.
Suddenly, they saw fellow rower Balraj Panwar, and they lifted the medal towards him and started to cry again. The last-minute change in boats had shaken the entire team. Teaming together at the last moment has its own issues.
Salman’s journey
A reluctant rower; he wanted to give up the sport because life was going nowhere — bharti (in Army) had become a fad for him. On Thursday, he had become an Asian Games medallist.
If someone had told Salman that he would win a medal at the Asian Games nine years ago, that too in rowing, he would have laughed it off. He was driving an Uber then. His father, who used to be a truck body-maker, had passed away and he had to support his family of eight. He had a WagonR and he put it to use.
Salman grew up in Tauru in Haryana. But after his father passed away in 2016, the family returned home to a village near Amethi. Since means were limited and he had to support a family with four brothers and two sisters, he was forced to drive an Uber in Delhi.
“I came to Delhi when I realised I had to work to support the family,” he said. He always wanted to be part of the Indian Army and had even given tests, which he failed on his first attempt.
“In 2016, I had given a written exam for the Army but failed. I had given up hope,” he said. But he had to support his family. Since he had a car, he decided to drive the car. “I had to support my family. I have four younger brothers and two sisters. My brothers had to study. My sisters had to be married.”
He worked in Delhi for one year when a friend asked him to try his luck in the Army again. “I worked for a year, and in 2018, once more bharti (recruitment),” he said. “I was still driving a cab then. I had a friend who told me 'Salman, why are you driving a cab?' Height hai (you are tall). There were four months to bharti. I told the person who told me, 'driver ka jugad kar (arrange a driver).'”
After joining the Bombay Engineer Group, he was forced to start rowing. “They told me I was tall and do well,” he said. “There was no choice.”
When things were not falling into place, there were times when he wanted to leave the sport as well. But his Commanding Officer made him stay. He spoke very highly of the grassroots coaches who made him a rower.
Even when he was upset because of the fiasco, he spoke to them. Subedar Prabhat Mishra, Satyavan, Satish Sirstat, Yaseen and Muneer – they were the ones who moulded him.
Even before Thursday's race, he called them. “They told me, 'Salman aisa chakuu maro ki nadi ka paani bahar aa jaye'. You get so motivated you feel you can row with a stone as well,” he said.
Today, this medal could be the game-changer.
Satnam empathizes for fellow rowers
Before the shuffle that raked up a big controversy, Satnam and Salman were scheduled to participate in men's quadruple sculls along with Jakar Khan and Balraj Panwar. But they ended up competing in double sculls and winning a historic bronze. However, their former teammates were not that lucky as they couldn't finish on the podium.
"Whatever happened was very wrong. We won a medal but what happened to our partners Balraj and Jakar was very wrong. We felt we could have won a gold on that boat," said Satnam.
He said they turned up for the competition for the country despite all setbacks. "We came today because we couldn’t let the country down. The trust the country has placed on you, the belief and money that has been spent on you. And on the last day you didn’t come out. People wouldn’t say why this happened. It would simply be that this is what you did."
