Asian Games 2026: Indian Canoe Sprint Contingent Finishes Campaign Without Medals

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Despite winning a bronze medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games, there was no joy for the Indian canoeing team in either the kayak or canoe events this time around, as they failed to reach the podium

India at Asian Games 2026 Canoe
Indian Athletes Raju Rawat and L.Neha Devi in Mixed Canoe Double 500m Final A Photo: Sports Authority of India
Summary of this article
  • India won a bronze medal in the men's 1000m canoe doubles event in Hangzhou, China, but this event was scrapped this time around.

  • Harshwardhan Singh Shaktawat failed to reach the podium in the men's 500m kayak singles event.

  • In the mixed doubles 500m canoe and kayak events, Indian pairs Raju Rawat and Neha Devi Leichonbam, and Parvathy Geetha and Prasanna Kumar Chempadiyil, finished second-last in their respective competitions.

India concluded their canoeing campaign at the Asian Games without a medal here at the Miyoshi Lake, failing to match their bronze-medal performance from the Hangzhou edition.

India had won a bronze in the men's canoe double 1000m at the Hangzhou Asian Games, with Arjun Singh and Sunil Singh finishing third.

However, the event has been scrapped from the programme for the current Asian Games, dealing a setback to India's medal hopes.

India's campaign this time ended without a podium finish, with the paddlers competing across the kayak and canoe events.

In the men's kayak single 500m, Harshwardhan Singh Shaktawat finished fourth in his semifinal, clocking 1:50.543s, which took him into the Final B classification race.

Shaktawat then topped the three-competitor Final B, finishing with a timing of 1:52.458s.

In the mixed canoe double 500m, Raju Rawat and Neha Devi Leichonbam finished eighth among nine pairs in the Final A. They clocked 2:00.891s.

The mixed kayak double 500m also ended without a podium finish for India as the duo of Parvathy Geetha and Prasanna Kumar Chempadiyil Sathyaprakash finished ninth and last in the Final A, clocking 1:53.994s.

The pair had earlier secured their place in the final after finishing second among four pairs in their semifinal.

Parvathy and Prasanna clocked 1:53.031s in the semifinal to qualify for the Mixed Kayak Double 500m Final

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