Asian Games 2026 Rowing Storm Explained: How Last-Minute Crew Shake-Up Left Indian Rowers 'Helpless'

Typhoon Dujuan has impacted the 2026 Asian Games in more ways than one. While the storm has forced organisers to alter schedules across the Games, it has also created an unexpected storm inside India's rowing camp.

The rowing competition, originally scheduled to be held over four days from September 20 to 24, has now been squeezed into just two days, September 23 and 24. With the compressed schedule meaning rowers could face multiple races in a short span, India's team management decided to reshuffle several crews.

For the athletes, however, the timing of the changes has become the bigger problem.

Imagine spending months preparing for one event, building your rhythm with your teammates and planning your entire Asian Games campaign around that combination, only to be told a day or two before the competition that you will now compete in a different event.

That is the situation several Indian rowers find themselves in at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya.

The reshuffle has seen athletes moved between the men's single sculls, double sculls, pair, four and quadruple sculls. Some rowers have been moved into boats they had not been preparing for, while existing combinations have been broken up and new ones formed at the last minute.

The changes have left several athletes unhappy, with reports suggesting that some rowers even threatened to skip Tuesday's training session.

So, why did India change its rowing combinations at the last minute? Why are the rowers unhappy? And how did a typhoon warning turn into a controversy inside India's rowing camp?

Here's what happened.

What Is The Rowing Controversy At The Asian Games?

The controversy began after India's rowing team management made several changes to its entries following the decision to compress the competition schedule.

The revised men's combinations are:

• Men's single sculls (M1x): Balraj Panwar

• Men's double sculls (M2x): Salman Khan, Satnam Singh

• Men's pair (M2-): Nitin Kumar, Jaswinder Singh

• Men's four (M4-): Yogesh Kumar, Babu Lal Yadav, Vipul Satish, Saurav Kumar

• Men's quadruple sculls (M4x): Kulwinder Singh, Navdeep Singh, Arvind Singh, Jakar Khan

The changes mean several rowers are now competing in events and combinations different from the ones they had spent months preparing for.

In rowing, crew combinations are particularly important because athletes need to develop rhythm, timing and coordination with their teammates. A last-minute change can therefore mean more than simply moving a name from one entry to another.

One of the affected rowers told Outlook India that he had spent more than seven months preparing for his original event and was informed about the change only shortly before competition.

"I have been preparing for my event for more than seven months, and now suddenly, a day before the competition, they told me that I will compete in another event. I haven't practised there. They changed my entry without my knowledge."

The rower said several other athletes were also affected.

"They changed the entries of at least seven or eight people without our knowledge. They are saying that the competition is for two days, so if one person has to do four races in a day, the schedule will be a bit tight. But other countries haven't changed anything. Only India has changed."

The athletes were also unhappy with the way the changes were communicated. According to the rower, they were not consulted before the revised entries were submitted.

"We had 17 players in the men's team, while other countries have 12 players each. Still, they came here and changed our entries without our knowledge. We were not consulted or asked for our opinion before the changes were made."

The situation became even more tense when the athletes protested against the changes. The rower alleged that the athletes were told the entries had already been submitted and could not be changed.

He also claimed that they were being warned about disciplinary action if they refused to follow the team's instructions.

"They told us that the entries have already been sent and they can't be changed. We are saying that we want to compete in the event we trained for. But now they are also threatening us with disciplinary action, saying they will take action against us if we don't follow the instructions."

The athletes, therefore, found themselves caught between their concerns over competing in unfamiliar combinations and the pressure to follow the revised team entries with the competition only hours away.

Why Was The Rowing Schedule Changed?

The rowing competition was originally scheduled to take place from September 20 to 24.

However, the approaching Typhoon Dujuan forced organisers to postpone the events and compress the programme into September 23 and 24.

That created a new challenge for the teams. Instead of having four days to complete their races, rowers now have to manage a much tighter competition schedule.

The Rowing Federation of India has maintained that the crew changes were made with India's medal chances in mind. The federation has argued that the compressed schedule could force athletes to race multiple times in a single day, making workload management particularly important.

The decision was also taken after discussions with India's Australian coach, Anthony Patterson, who has experience of conditions in Japan.

Why Does A Last-Minute Crew Change Matter?

Rowing crews are built around synchronisation.

In a four-person boat, all four rowers have to maintain the same rhythm, timing and stroke rate. A new combination therefore needs time to develop an understanding on the water.

That is why the athletes' biggest concern is not simply that their event has changed, but that the changes have come so close to competition.

For the affected rowers, months of preparation have effectively been altered overnight.

The federation, on the other hand, believes the shortened schedule has changed the circumstances enough to warrant a different strategy.

What Happens Now?

The immediate priority is for the athletes to compete in the revised events, with rowing scheduled to begin on September 23.

India's rowing team has already had to deal with an unusual preparation period because of the weather-related postponement. The latest crew reshuffle has added another layer of uncertainty.

The federation believes the new combinations can help India manage the compressed schedule and maximise its medal chances.

The affected rowers, meanwhile, are being asked to compete in events for which some say they have not specifically prepared.

“What can we do now? We have to compete. As athletes, we don't really have any power to change these decisions. We feel helpless because we don't have much of a choice,” one of the affected rowers told Outlook India.

With the first races now just hours away on Wednesday, September 23, the controversy will move from the meeting room to the water, where the new Indian combinations will finally be put to the test.