23 rowers qualify for Beijing Olympics

The regatta which boasted an entry of 24 countries and 66 crews is the highest number of Asian nations ever competing at the continental Olympic qualification regatta and adds an additional eight new nations to those who have already qualified for the 2008 Olympic Regatta, bringing the total number of qualified nations to 57. More are expected to qualify at the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta in Poznan, Poland, this coming June.

The biggest increase in participation came from countries from the Middle East with Iran, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Palestine, Qatar and Lebanon were all represented. “This is a clear reflection of FISA’s efforts to secure rowing at the 2006 Doha Asian Games and our development efforts in the region,” says FISA Development Consultant for Asia Chris Perry.

The speed of Asia’s top crews has also clearly improved. “The average speed is increasing quickly towards that seen at world level and, whilst there is still some way to go, the gap is most definitely narrowing”, explains Perry. “This is perhaps due to the increasingly focused approach taken towards preparation for major events with more professional coaches, full-time athletes and increased levels of funding. At the same time FISA has also had to improve the level of event organisation to higher standards. This year, for example, it has been necessary to seed crews in Asia for the first time and to make use of a fairness committee. It is also important to note that the FISA/Olympic Solidarity Camp prior to the regatta was the biggest regional camp ever undertaken and played a major role in securing the high levels of participation seen.”

Four boat classes were competing to grab the qualification spots: the men’s and women’s single and the men’s and women’s lightweight double. China qualified one more rower, while Iran and Myanmar qualified their first rowers ever for the Olympic Games.

The men’s single scull was, as expected, dominated by Chinese sculler Liang Zhang. Zhang had performed extremely well on the Rowing World Cup circuit in 2007, finishing twice in the B Final, but missed out on a qualifying place at the World Rowing Championships. Here in Shanghai he was never really challenged. The surprise performer however was Mohsen Shadinaghadeh of Iran who won his heat and semifinal to take the first-ever Olympic qualification for his country in rowing. The other qualifiers were Bajrangal Takhak of India, lightweight sculler Hiu Fung Law of Hong Kong, Ruslan Naurzaliev of Uzbekistan and Ming Hui Wang of Chinese Taipei. Japan’s Takahiro Suda, 5th at the 2007 World Championships in lightweight single, missed out on a place in the A Final.

Three scullers stood out in the women’s single: Shin Yeong Eun of Korea, Inga Dudchenko of Kazakhstan and Lee Ka Man of Hong Kong. These three athletes won their respective heats and Shin and Lee also won the semifinals, with Dudchenko close behind Shin in second. Shin, by far the tallest and heaviest athlete, was the reigning Asian Champion whilst Lee, a finalist at the 2007 World Rowing Under 23 Championships, was the smallest. Strong headwind conditions in the Finals favoured the larger competitors and it was Shin who led the race from start to finish. Dudchenko pulled away from Lee in the final quarter of the race to finish second, with Lee third. Iran’s Homa Hosseini was fourth and Myanmars Latt Shwe Zin fifth. Vietnam, who had been involved in a dead-heat re-row the day before, missed out. For Myanmar it was step in history as this was the first time to qualify a boat for the Olympic Games the only country from South East Asia to do so at this regatta.

In the men’s lightweight double sculls, Hong Kong and India were the crews to beat. Respectively they were the silver and bronze medalists from the Asian Championships in 2007 and both crews comfortably won their heat and semifinal. In the Final, the results stayed true to form with Kwong Wing Chow and Sau Wah So of Hong Kong moving into an early lead and opening this out over the course of the race to win by a wide margin of some 9 seconds. Kumar Khandwal and Manjeet Singh of India took second place and Tae Hwan Park and Kangeun Jang of Korea took third.

Japan, who had missed out on a qualifying place at Munich by the narrowest of margins, were always going to be the favourites in the women’s lightweight double. Misaki Kumakura and Akiko Iwamoto won their heat comfortably to qualify directly for the Final and they dominated from start to finish winning by a margin of nearly 25 seconds over their nearest rival. The interesting battles were for the remaining two places, where Asian Games medalists Phuttharaska and Phaengkathog of Thailand and Sevara and Zarrina Ganieva were expected to feature strongly. As it turned out however, neither of these crews were able to make an impact on Natalya Voronova and Alexandra Opachanova of Kazakhstan who took second place and Ko Young Eun and Ji Yoo Jin of Korea who took the third qualifying spot. Thailand missed out in fourth place and Uzbekistan in fifth.

“There was a good atmosphere surrounding the regatta course on Finals day, although the level of tension and pressure amongst teams was clearly evident,” says Perry “An Olympic standard security operation surrounding the entire venue meant that only accredited individuals could watch the competition, limiting spectators to athletes and team officials only.”

Shanghai has been the venue for many of China’s major rowing events and for previous regional Games and Championships and is one of the best rowing facilities in China with two eight-lane, 2,000-meter courses located side by side. The biggest challenge by far for event organizers in Asia is the provision of racing boats for competition. With huge distances, and relatively low budgets, the majority of Asian federations are unable to send their own boats to regional events. This places a huge and growing burden on event organisers to provide suitable boat material for rental. China is one of the few countries with a strong local boat building industry and it was only with the support of these manufacturers that sufficient equipment could be supplied.

For a detailed list of qualified crews, please click here.

Copy thanks to Chris Perry