Indian rowers Satnam Singh and Salman Khan won bronze in the double sculls at the 2026 Asian Games. However, they alleged that last-minute crew changes cost them gold and claimed they were pressured to accept them or risk being branded anti-national.
Indian rowers Satnam Singh and Salman Khan scripted history at the Asian Games 2026 on Thursday, September 24. The duo became the first Indian men’s pair to win an Asian Games medal in double sculls, clinching a bronze medal at the Nagara-Kagawa International Regatta Course.
This was India’s first medal in rowing and the overall 14th medal at the ongoing edition of the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya. China’s Yi Xudi and Nie Yide finished at the top of the podium with 6:09.77, while Pavel Sorin and Mekhrojbek Mamatkulov of Uzbekistan took home the silver medal after clocking 6:10.49.
Satnam and Salman managed to win a medal in rowing despite controversy around late-minute changes in crew combinations by the federation, where two were forced to shift from quadruple to double sculls following weather-related compressions, leaving them aggrieved over what they felt was a missed opportunity for gold.
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‘How Can We Celebrate?’
Ahead of opening races, the Indian rowing contingent was engulfed in turmoil following the Rowing Federation of India’s surprise decision to completely overhaul crew combinations due to weather disruptions.
Speaking to RevSportz after their historic finish at the Asian Games 2026, one of the rowers expressed disappointment over missing out on the opportunity to win a gold medal, stating that the gold was snatched away from them because of the administrative chaos and forced changes that unfolded over the preceding days.
“How can we celebrate a bronze when we know we could have won gold? The gold was taken away from us by what happened over the last few days," one of the rowers said.
In the 2022 Asian Games, the Indian rowing contingent secured a total of five medals, including two silver and three bronze, equaling their previous best-ever haul from the 2010 edition in Guangzhou. However, this time, the team managed to win only medal, only one medal so far at the Aichi-Nagoya Games.
The selection decisions by Australian head coach Anthony Patterson and the Rowing Federation of India have faced severe backlash from athletes, who claim the sudden overhaul left them ‘disturbed’ and derailed their year-long preparation for the event.
Fear of Being Branded ‘Anti-National’
the turbulent atmosphere in the camp, the rowers made staggering allegations against the authorities, claiming they were pressured into compliance under duress.
"We couldn't do anything about it because we were told we would be sent back," a rower told RevSports.
“You know we would be branded anti-national and our careers would be on the line," he added.
Meanwhile, Australian head coach Anthony Patterson defended the changes in the team combinations, stating that the compressed rowing schedule following weather disruptions caused by a typhoon in Japan required a fresh strategy to maximise India’s medal chances.
The allegations by Indian rowers have put Rowing Federation of India (RFI) president Balaji Maradapa and his team under scrutiny as athletes have questioned the last-minute crew changes and alleged that they were pressured to accept the revised combinations.
Also Read: Rowing at Asian Games: Satnam, Salman secure bronze in double sculls
