Gifu, Sep 2026 : Indian rowers Satnam Singh and Salman Khan secured a bronze medal in the men’s double sculls at the Asian Games here on Thursday, while Balraj Panwar narrowly missed out on a podium finish after placing fourth in the men’s single sculls final at the Nagaragawa International Regatta Course.
Satnam and Salman clocked 6:13.25 to finish third in the double sculls. China’s Xudi Yi and Yide Nie claimed the gold medal with a time of 6:09.77, while Uzbekistan’s Pavel Sorin and Mekhrojbek Mamatkulov finished second in 6:10.49 to take silver.
The Indian pair remained in medal contention throughout the race. At the halfway mark, after 1,000 metres, they were placed third behind China and Uzbekistan. With 500 metres remaining, Satnam and Salman raised their pace and moved into second position.
However, the Indian duo could not maintain the advantage in the final stretch as the Uzbek pair overtook them. China maintained its lead to secure gold, while India crossed the finish line third to add another rowing medal to its Asian Games campaign.
For Satnam, the bronze marked his second Asian Games medal. He had previously won a bronze at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games as part of India’s men’s quadruple sculls team. He had also overcome a physical setback during an earlier race at those Games before returning to compete and help India secure a podium finish.
Salman, who hails from Amethi district in Uttar Pradesh, has also made significant progress in his rowing career. He was inducted into the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), which provided him access to elite training and sports science support. A year later, he won a medal at the Asian Rowing Cup, an achievement that also earned him a promotion to the rank of Naib Subedar in the Indian Army.
Earlier, Balraj Panwar came close to winning a medal in the men’s single sculls but finished fourth in 6:54.80.
Balraj was in second place at the halfway stage, trailing China’s Zhiwei Deng. However, Uzbekistan’s Shakhboz Kholmurzaev remained close behind the Indian rower.
With 500 metres left, Kholmurzaev moved ahead of Balraj and maintained his position until the finish, leaving the Indian outside the medal places.
Deng won the gold in 6:38.98, while Kholmurzaev secured silver in 6:41.83. Japan’s Tatsuya Sakurama completed the podium with bronze in 6:46.78.
The results gave India a bronze medal from the double sculls while Balraj’s fourth-place finish reflected a closely contested single-sculls final.
