Rower Bajrang Lal wins second gold for India, first ever in rowing

GUANGZHOU: Armyman Bajrang Lal Takhar led the charge with a historic gold in men's singles scull as Indian rowers notched up three more medals to put India's floundering campaign at the Asian Games back on track on Friday.

Apart from Bajrang Lal's gold, which is first for an Indian rower at the Games, the Indian men's eight team grabbed silver and the women claimed the pair bronze to make it a very fruitful day at the International Rowing Centre.

Starting in lane 3, the 29-year-old Bajrang Lal led the 2000m race from start to finish and rowed his way to the gold with a few lengths of boats to spare in 7 minutes and 4.78 seconds.

It was only the second gold medal won by India in these largely unsuccessful Games following Pankaj Advani's successful defence of his billiards singles title.

The gold, that followed the two silver medals won in the men's light weight 4s and 4s event on Thursday, took the medal haul from rowing to five.

Rajasthan-born Bajrang Lal, who won the Asian championship gold last year in Korea and was the pre-event favourite, was followed across the finish line by Chinese Taipei's Wang Ming Hui (7:07.33), who took the silver, and Iraq's Haeider Hamarasheid (7:10.10), who won the bronze.

Four years ago, the six-foot Bajrang Lal had become the first Indian to win a silver medal at the Asian Games.

Bajrang Lal, the 2006 South Asian Games champion in both single and double sculls, said later that he was determined to change the Doha silver into gold here.

"I won silver in the 2006 Asian Games. I had prepared for four years to fight for the gold medal today. I knew I would make it," said the rower from Sikar district of Rajasthan who is a Naik Subedar in the Rajputana Rifles.

About the final race, in which he beat back the challenge of Taipei and Iraq, Bajrang Lal said he kept increasing the lead after the halfway mark marginally to come out comfortable victor.

"At the first 1000m I was leading by 2 seconds. After the 1500m I was leading by four seconds and I knew nobody could beat me then. It was my event today," he said.

Later the women's duo of Pratima Puhana and Pramila Minz, both in their teens, grabbed the pairs bronze in 7 minutes and 47.50 seconds, well behind gold medal winners China, who crossed the finish line far ahead in 7:22.06.

The silver went to Kazakhstan. It was a close fight for the bronze in which the Indian women edged out Indonesia with less than a minute to spare.

The rowing event came to a finale with the Indian men's eight team clinching the silver, by clocking 5:49.50, way behind hosts China who timed 5:37.44, but well ahead of bronze medal winners Uzbekistan (5:55.96).

The three teams had finished the heats in the same order though China had returned a better time while India clocked 5:52.56 which they bettered on Friday.

The Indians -- Lokesh Kumar, Satish Joshi, Saji Thomas, Jenil Krishnan, Anil Kumar, Rajesh Kumar Yadav, Manjeet Singh and Girraj Singh -- finished more than a boat and half length ahead of the third-placed team.

Lokesh, Joshi, Yadav and Manjeet won the lightweight men's four silver Thursday while Krishnan, Thomas, Anil Kumar and Ranjit Singh won the men's four event.

Bajrang Lal was the most favoured finalist for the single sculls gold and won the race from a fast-finishing Wang Ming Hui of Taipei.

The Taipei rower, who was in last position at one stage, passed four scullers on his way to the silver, finishing half a boat length ahead of bronze medal winner Haieder who provided Iraq with their first-ever rowing medal in Games history and their first medal.

But the last day was again dominated by China who won four more gold medals in brisk cross-tailwind conditions, never seriously challenged in winning all of them.

In the remaining three finals, including the race in which Bajrang Lal took the gold, there was no Chinese presence.

Indian duo Pratima and Pramila gave India their first ever women's rowing medal, which was a surprise, behind China's Lin Hong and Sun Zhengping (gold) and the Kazakh pair of Oxana Nazarova and Svetlana Germanovich.