Rowers break new ground with Olympic berth

Not many know that the country broke new sporting ground earlier this month in Naganuma, Japan, where our rowers qualified for the Olympics for the first-time ever — the open coxless pair of Surender Singh and Johnson Xavier sealing a spot at the quadrennial Games in that event by snatching the silver medal.

In addition, three team silvers and a bronze leading to a total individual haul of 19 medals — 10 silvers, two bronzes despite trying conditions and financial handicaps, spoke of fortitude that complied with the Kargil spirit. Wielding oars instead of rifles, our rowers who trained at the College of Military Engineering (CME), Kirkee (Pune), did the nation proud andretained India’s prominent position on the international rowing map.

Braving temperatures as low as seven degrees centigrade, rough waters and and coping with inferior equipment that contrasted that used by perennial champions Japan, the jawans who trained under College of Engineering and Rafting Association (CERA) ensured that India’s lofty, though little known, reputation in the sport remained intact.

Manager of the 14-member squad, Colonel KR Chakravati, also served as cox (member of crew who steers boats). The colonel, who added to the bronze he won at the 1985 Asian Championships in Hong Kong, experienced mixed feelings. Joy over India’s best-ever international display. Sorrow at virtual ignoring of his rowers’ feat by the media.

“We could do with some media support,” Chakravati said. “Rowing needs encouragement, keeping in mind the nation’s exemplary performance in the last decade during which we have never returned home empty handed.”

But Chakravati remained on even keel. Entry to nextyear’s Sydney Olympics is exhilarating. He presented the rowing communities modest though realistic aims, saying: “A medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics is remote. But we aim for one at the 2004 Games.”

“Our presence at the Olympics will be an enriching experience,” Chakravati added. “Our rowers are bound to imbibe vital nuances from global powerhouses Germany, Britain, Australia and the United States to add to the lessons learnt from Asian forces such as China, Japan and South Korea.”

KARGIL vs NAGANUMA

The 14 rowers who scripted unprecedented success for the country at the Asian Championships could well have been defending strategic heights in Kargil instead of fighting currents in a grueling stretch of water in Naganuma, Japan.

Thanks to a delicately executed strategy by the CME, Pune, the oarsmen could have done both if it came to it.

Cox and manager of the side, Colonel KR Chakravati explained: “The jawans were put on 12-hour alert in June-July and kept in readiness for action,if required.”

Happily, the men now back home, could pursue their training schedule here in Pune, although it meant administrative difficulties in terms of finance, reveals Col PK Uberoi, also a member of the coaching committee in the Rowing Federation of India.

The camp, originally planned in Chandigarh was aborted, Uberoi explained. Sports Authority of India (SAI) washed their hands off financing the camp, once the venue was moved to Pune, the Col added. Although SAI have agreed in principle to underwrite the cost of training, the money has not been forthcoming.

CME, Pune, came to the rescue financing and running the camp. Rigorous training at the waters of the National Defence Academy (NDA) lake Khadakwasla gave way to the Mulla River when the monsoons intensified.

FACT FILE

India’s international showing in the last decade: