Indian rowers allege pressure to compete after late crew changes at Asian Games

Indian rowers at the Asian Games said on September 24, 2026 they felt compelled to race despite last-minute crew changes, fearing they would be branded "anti-national", after Satnam Singh and Salman Khan won bronze in the men's double sculls. Speaking to RevSportz, Satnam said the athletes felt they had little choice but to compete: "If we hadn't participated, we'd be considered anti-national," he said.

India's rowing campaign at the Asian Games was overshadowed by a bitter dispute over alterations to crew line-ups announced only days before competition. Organisers compressed the rowing programme from four days into two because of weather disruption caused by Typhoon Dujuan, forcing the Indian camp to reshuffle combinations across multiple events. The federation has argued the changes were made in the interest of the team; athletes have said the timing undermined their preparations.

The reassignments included several named switches: Arvind Singh was moved from the single sculls to the quadruple sculls, Balraj Panwar was shifted from the quad to the single sculls, and Navdeep Singh and Kulwinder Singh were moved from the double sculls to the quadruple sculls. In the men's pair, Saurav Kumar and Vipul Satish were set to be replaced by Nitin Kumar and Jaswinder Singh, while reserve Jasmail Singh was also set to be included in the coxless four. Those changes affected several events and were announced shortly before racing began.

Several athletes reported distress at the late alterations. One rower said those moved from their original events were "very disturbed", and a team member told PTI: "Some rowers have not taken food yet as they are in a disturbed state of mind. They are not knowing what to do." An official tracking the situation also acknowledged the mood, saying, "It is very sad, but things are not rosy in the rowing team."

RFI president Balaji Maradapa defended the revisions, saying the revised crew combinations were decided by the coaches in the interest of the team after the rowing programme was reduced from four days to two because of the weather disruption caused by Typhoon Dujuan. Maradapa also accused a former coach of "influencing" the athletes.

Satnam and Salman secured the bronze in the men's double sculls, but their remarks after the race indicated the medal had not erased their frustration over the late changes. The pair described the podium finish as meaningful yet framed it as a reminder of what they believe was a missed opportunity to contest for gold.

The rowers' complaints have focused on how the revised combinations were communicated and whether athletes were adequately consulted before the switches were implemented. The federation has outlined why the crews were altered; the athletes remain dissatisfied with how those decisions were handled.

The medal has settled the result on the water. It has not settled the dispute over how India's crews were put together in the first place.