Poonam targets medal in Women’s Coxless Four at Asian Games 2026
Indian rower Poonam is targeting a medal in the Women’s Coxless Four at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, which run from September 19 to October 4; she will make her Asian Games debut alongside Tendenthoi Devi, Aleena Anto and Gurbani Kaur.
Poonam says she began rowing to secure admission for her graduation through a sports scholarship after previously competing in athletics and seeking better facilities beyond her district. "I started rowing because I got the opportunity to get admission for my graduation through sport. At that time, I never thought that rowing would become my career. I just wanted to make use of the opportunity and see where it could take me," she said. Her ambitions expanded from inter-college targets to national success, a progression she outlined: "Initially, my dream was to win a gold medal at the inter-college and university level. Then I wanted to win a medal at the Senior Nationals. Slowly, my goals started getting bigger. We have won gold medals at the Nationals, Senior Nationals, and National Games, and now I am at the Asian Games," she said.
Poonam credits a year at the Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS) with providing a high-performance environment and broader support that improved her consistency. "There have been a lot of changes after coming to Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS). I have been part of their rowing programme for the past year. We get a lot of support here, and the staff takes care of our nutrition, physiology and psychology. Because of this environment, we feel more confident and feel that we can do much more." she said.
She also points to a sustained period in the national camp as central to the crew’s preparation, saying that consistent training since last year has raised confidence and performance levels. "I am feeling very good about going to the Asian Games. We had been working towards getting into the camp for the last few years, and we have been able to stay together and train consistently since last year. That has helped us improve a lot and has given me a lot of confidence," she said.
A training stint in Europe exposed Poonam and her teammates to higher-pressure races and, in her view, reduced the perceived gap with strong international crews. "Our Europe trip was very good because we learned how to handle pressure and control our nervousness during a race. Earlier, when we saw the European teams, we used to think about when we would be able to beat them. But after competing with them, we realised that we are not very far behind. We can compete with them," she added.
Poonam emphasises the importance of crew cohesion and a shared rhythm in the four, describing long training sessions and the enjoyment she finds in the sport. "We have spent a lot of time training together, and that has helped us understand each other better. In rowing, everyone has to move together and maintain the same rhythm. The more time we spend together, the more confident we become as a crew." She added: "Every stroke feels like music. The catch is different, the finish is different, and the movement of the boat is different. We don’t get bored because we are so involved in it. Sometimes we keep rowing for one or two hours and don’t even realise how much time has passed," she said.
Poonam is part of an Indian rowing setup that has previously won 2 gold, 5 silver, and 16 bronze medals at the Asian Games, with the country’s first rowing gold coming from Bajrang Lal Takhar in 2010, and which took five medals (2 silver, 3 bronze) at Hangzhou 2023. She goes into the Aichi-Nagoya Games determined to help India secure a medal in the Women’s Coxless Four with Tendenthoi Devi, Aleena Anto and Gurbani Kaur, as the event runs from September 19 to October 4, 2026.
