India Name 22-Member Rowing Squad for Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games
India have named a 22-member rowing contingent for the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, with the squad set to compete across a range of sculling and sweep events.
The Indian contingent includes 17 male athletes and five female athletes, with reserves also named across scull and sweep disciplines. The squad will look to build on India's strong showing at the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou, where Indian rowers won five medals and established themselves as one of the country's most successful contingents in the sport.
The 2026 selection includes athletes across men's quadruple sculls, pair, four, lightweight double sculls, double sculls and single sculls, along with a women's four crew.
The squad also includes reserve athletes, giving India additional depth across events during the competition.
Building on a five-medal campaign in Hangzhou
India's rowing campaign at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games produced five medals: two silver and three bronze. The men's eight crew won silver, while Arvind Singh and Arjun Lal Jat secured another silver in the lightweight men's double sculls. India also won bronze medals in the men's quadruple sculls, men's coxless four and men's coxless pair.
The results underlined the country's strength in crew events and demonstrated India's ability to compete for medals across different disciplines. The men's quadruple sculls crew was among India's medal-winning combinations, finishing third in the final. India also claimed bronze in the men's coxless four and men's coxless pair, while the men's eight added another silver medal.
The 2026 squad will now look to maintain that competitive standard with a fresh group of athletes.
The men's quadruple sculls team will feature Satnam Singh Ghurde, Jakar Khan, Salman Khan and Balraj Panwar. The event has previously been one of India's successful disciplines at the Asian Games, with the country winning bronze in Hangzhou. Balraj Panwar's inclusion adds an experienced name to the current combination as India looks to remain competitive in the four-man sculling event.
Vipul Satish and Saurav Kumar have been selected for the men's pair, while Nitin Kumar, Yogesh Kumar, Jaswinder Singh and Babu Lal Yadav will form India's men's four crew. Ujjwal Kumar Singh will compete in the lightweight men's double sculls, a discipline in which India won silver at Hangzhou through Arvind Singh and Arjun Lal Jat.
The men's double sculls event will feature Navdeep Singh and Kulwinder Singh.
Arvind Singh, meanwhile, has been named for the men's single sculls. A former Asian Games silver medallist in the lightweight double sculls, his experience will be important as India competes in another demanding Olympic discipline.
The men's squad also includes three reserves.
Rohit has been named as reserve for the scull events, covering the men's double sculls, quadruple sculls and lightweight double sculls. Ajay Tyagi is the reserve for lightweight scull events, while Jasmail Singh has been selected as the reserve for the sweep events, covering the men's pair and coxless four.
The reserve structure provides India with flexibility across the programme and reflects the importance of squad depth during a multi-day competition.
India's women's rowing contingent will focus on the women's four-event. Poonam, Aleena Anto, Tendenthoi Devi Haobijam and Gurbani Kaur have been named in the team, while Anshika Bharti has been selected as reserve for the women's sweep events. The women's four crew will aim to improve on India's performance at Hangzhou 2022, where the women's coxless four finished fifth.
At the previous Asian Games, the women's crew of Aswati P. B., Mrunmayee N. Salgaonkar, Thangjam Priya Devi and Rukmani finished fifth in the final.
The women's eight also finished fifth in Hangzhou. While India did not win a medal in the women's events at the previous edition, the current squad has another opportunity to make progress against Asia's leading rowing nations.
India's 2026 selection covers both major categories of rowing. Sculling events involve athletes using two oars each and include the single sculls, double sculls, lightweight double sculls and quadruple sculls. Sweep events involve one oar per athlete and include the pair and four.
Each discipline requires a different combination of technical precision, endurance and crew coordination. In the single sculls, an athlete must manage the entire boat alone, making pacing and race awareness critical. The double and quadruple sculls demand close synchronisation, with even small differences in rhythm capable of affecting boat speed.
The sweep events place equal importance on power and coordination. In the pair, two athletes must work in complete harmony, while the four require sustained rhythm and collective efficiency across a longer crew. For India, the strength of the 2026 squad lies in the number of athletes available across different boat classes.
The 2022 Asian Games established a clear benchmark for Indian rowing. Five medals represented one of India's strongest performances at the continental competition, but repeating or improving on that result will present a major challenge. Aichi-Nagoya will bring together the strongest rowing programmes in Asia, where margins are often decided by fractions of a second.
India's objective will therefore be to turn strong preliminary performances into places in the medal races. The men's quadruple sculls, pair and four events will be key opportunities, while the return of experienced athletes such as Balraj Panwar and Arvind Singh could provide important stability.
The women's four will also look to take the next step after India's fifth-place result in the discipline at Hangzhou.
With 22 athletes, including reserves, India have named a squad with depth across sculling and sweep events. The challenge now will be to translate that depth into another successful Asian Games campaign.
India’s 22-member rowing squad for the 2026 Asian Games: Satnam Singh Ghurde, Vipul Satish, Jakar Khan, Salman Khan, Saurav Kumar, Nitin Kumar, Yogesh Kumar, Ujjwal Kumar Singh, Balraj Panwar, Jaswinder Singh, Navdeep Singh, Kulwinder Singh, Arvind Singh, Babu Lal Yadav, Rohit, Ajay Tyagi, Jasmail Singh, Poonam, Aleena Anto, Tendenthoi Devi Haobijam, Gurbani Kaur and Anshika Bharti.
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