24th Open Sprint National Rowing Championships 2023 | Dattu Bhokanal fails to qualify for the single sculls finals
At the semifinals of the 40th Senior and 24th Open Sprint National Rowing Championships 2023 at the Army Rowing Node, CME here on Thursday, Dattu Bhokanal, the gold medalist from the 2018 Asian Games Incheon, was unable to advance to the Single Sculls final despite his return attempt.
Four further units, Chandigarh, Orissa, and Madhya Pradesh, were left to compete in the final competition, leaving the two men's rowing powerhouses, the Army Sports Control Board (ASCB) and the Services Sports Control Board (SSCB), with 11 first-place finishes on Day 2 of the tournament.
Similar disparities in honours were seen in the women's division, where seven states had representatives in the finals. Both Madhya Pradesh and Orissa had two finalists. By reaching the Single Sculls (W1x) final in 8:22.4s, Mrunmayee Salgaonkar of Nashik maintained Maharashtra's interest. Mrunmayee, an ARN trainee, performed far better than Kushpreet Kaur of Punjab (8:35.9s), who won the comparable semifinal.
In the equivalent men's race, Satnam Singh defeated Tokyo Olympian Arvind Singh with a time of 7:17.3s (7:18.9s). Then, Armyman Karamjit (7:31.9s), who had won the second semifinal, joined in.
Army rowers won the Coxed Eights, Single Sculls, Double Sculls, Quadruple Sculls, Lightweight Double Sculls, and Coxless Pairs events as the competition continued into the evening. The Coxless Pairs, Double Sculls, Coxless Fours, and Lightweight Double Sculls are the four events in which Services will compete.
The first gold medal in the Para Men's Single Scull was determined later that day.
Hav. Narayan Konganapalle, who won the bronze medal in the World Cup, performed well by besting Armyman Nk. Kuldeep in a time of 8 minutes 14.1 seconds (8:59.9).