Om Prakash and Sawarn Singh topped Heat 2 in men’s doubles sculls while Dattu Baban Bhokanal was second in Heat 1 of singles sculls in the rowing competition of the 18th Asian Games here on Sunday.
Prakash and Sawarn, who won a singles sculls bronze in Incheon Games four years ago, clocked 7:10.26 to emerge the fastest ahead of the Japanese pairing of Yamao Keita and Kuribara Tomokazu, who recorded 7:12.70.
Bhokanal was not at his best in the single sculls and finished second with 8:09.21 behind Japan’s Ryuta Arakawa, who recorded 7:56.08. The Indian has been consistently clocking around seven minutes in the last one month.
In the men’s pair heats, Malkeet Singh and Gurinder Singh were third fastest in Heat 1 with 7:37.20, behind the Chinese pair of Li Xiaoxiong and Zhao Jingbin (7:30.14), and Uzbekistan’s Alisher Turdiev and Sardor Tulkinkhujaev (7:33.48).
Sanjukta Dung and Harpreet Kaur disappointed in women’s pair Heat 1, finishing fifth and last with 9:02.88.
The quartet of Bhopal Singh, Jagvir Singh, Tejash Hanamant Shinde and Praney Ganesh Naukarkar were fourth fastest with 7: 01.20 in the lightweight four heats. Teams from China, Indonesia and Uzbekistan were first, second and third fastest respectively.
