Finals of the Asian Rowing Champs

Finals of the 14th Asian Rowing Championships and 17th Asian Junior Rowing Championships were held on 16th and 17th October in Hwacheon, Korea. Over three hundred athletes, representing twenty Asian countries and regions took part in the combined championships. Fourteen boat classes for seniors and nine for juniors were contested.

After experiencing excellent weather in the early rounds, the wind picked up strongly for the finals making racing challenging – especially on the last day, when the water become rough. The Hwacheon Regatta Course remained rowable however and conditions were fair across all lanes throughout the Championships.

In the Senior Championships, China again dominated the medals table with a total of seven gold and three silver medals. Host nation Korea were second with two gold, four silver and one bronze, closely followed by Hong Kong, China with two gold, three silver and one bronze. Nine federations won medals.

As expected, with everyone looking towards the Asian Continental Olympic Qualification Regatta in April 2012, racing in the lightweight double sculls and men’s and women’s single sculls drew particular attention.

The men’s single attracted one of the largest entries and produced an exciting final. At the line, it was Iran’s Mohsen Shadi Naghadeh who added the title of Asian Champion to his previous successes at the Asian Games and World Rowing Under 23 Championships. His time was 7:08.73, ahead of Lei Wang of China (7:10.67) and Sawarn Singh of India (7:11.83). Dong-Yong Kim (KOR), Haeidr Hama Rashid (IRQ) and Vladimir Chernenko (UZB) made up the remaining finalists.

In the women’s single sculls, it was the experienced Weiwei Zhu of China who moved into the lead after a closely fought first thousand with Hong Kong’s Ka Man Lee. Zhu finished in 7:59.67 ahead of the smaller lightweight sculler Lee (8:05.76) and Svetlana Germanovich of Kazakhstan, who placed third (8:07.99).

In the absence of both China and Japan, the field in the lightweight women’s doubles was not as strong. Nevertheless, Korea’s Myung-Shin Kim and Yoo-Jin Ji showed that they will be contenders for qualification next year – winning the event ahead of Kazakhstan and Hong Kong, China. The experienced Thai double of Phuttharaska and Bussayamas chose to race in the open event this time (placing third) but should also return with a strong challenge in the lightweight category next year.

The men’s lightweight double sculls also attracted a large entry, but two crews stood out. India’s Sonu and Shokendar won the preliminary heat in a sprint finish with Hong Kong’s Leung and Lok. The final was a repeat performance, with the Indian duo taking gold in the same fashion despite catching a crab one stroke before the line. Korea was third, ahead of Kazakhstan, China and Indonesia.

The men’s eight was won by China in 5:46.56, with India second in 5:50.51 and Iran third in 5:52.61.

With their National City Games taking place at almost the same time, China did not field a strong junior contingent, leaving host country Korea to dominate the Junior Championships in impressive style. Korean juniors won five gold, two silver and two bronze medals, whilst Japan and Uzbekistan filled the second and third place slots in the final medal table. A total of seven countries won junior medals.

The largest entries were seen in the junior men’s and women’s single and the junior men’s and women’s doubles. Full results can be found at the Asian Rowing Federation’s new website: www.arfrowing.org

Those attending the Championships commended the organising committee for their impressive work in preparing what has become a very large regatta. The Korean Rowing Association, together with the Government authorities of Hwacheon County and Gangwon Province, delivered an international-standard venue together with outstanding facilities for teams and officials. This was combined with traditional Korean hospitality in beautiful natural surroundings.

The Asian Rowing Federation, ARF, also held its annual congress in conjunction with the event. ARF President, Mr. Jong-Chul Lee, outlined his vision for the further rapid development of Asian rowing and highlighted the major events that will be hosted in Korea over the coming years. These include the Asian Continental Qualification Regatta in 2012, and the World Rowing Championships in 2013, the Asian Games in 2014 and the Universiade in 2015.

The Congress allocated the 2012 Asian Junior Championships to Nanchang, China and the 2013 Asian Championships to Lu’an, China. The 2013 Asian Junior Championships was allocated to Samarkand, Uzbekistan – the first time for a major Asian event to be awarded to central Asia. The Samarkand rowing course is a newly upgraded man-made course.

Prepared by Chris Perry, Chair, ARF Competition Committee and FISA Development Consultant, Asia.