Rowing

Overview

Origin

Ancient

Category

Aquatic

Olympic discipline

Yes

Paralympic discipline

No

Central pathway

Olympic (TOPS eligible)

Athlete profiles on SportSupport

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Governance and status

Each field below is shown only where we hold a source for it; anything else reads “Not currently verified” rather than a guess. Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports recognition is granted year by year, so it is only ever shown with the year it applies to. Last reviewed: September 2026.

Indian governing/organising body

RFI

Ministry recognition

Rowing Federation of India — Annual recognition renewed by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports — as at 2026Source: Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports — List of recognised National Sports Federations

International federation

Not currently verified

Khelo India inclusion

On the official Khelo India Games discipline list as "Rowing"Source: Sports Authority of India / Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports — Discipline wise Participation in all editions of Khelo India Games (19th Edition) (2026-08-29)

TOPS eligibility

In scope — TOPS covers Olympic medal prospects

Olympic status

On the Olympic programme

Paralympic status

Not a Paralympic discipline

Scholarships & Funding

Central, state and private scholarships available for rowing athletes in India.

• Khelo India Talent Identification & Development (KITID)

  Monthly stipend (₹10,000 for selected Khelo India athletes), boarding, coaching and kit at accredited centres for talent identified through the Khelo India selection process (Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports). Applies only to disciplines on the official Khelo India Games list, and only to athletes it selects.

• Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS)

  Central government scheme covering training, foreign exposure, equipment and an out-of-pocket allowance (up to ₹50,000/month) for athletes inducted by the Mission Olympic Cell. TOPS covers a Core Group and a Development Group of disciplines rather than every Olympic sport, and induction is decided athlete by athlete; we hold no current list confirming whether rowing is among the covered disciplines.

• National Sports Development Fund (NSDF)

  Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports fund used to sponsor elite athletes' training, foreign coaches and equipment. Allocations are made case by case; we hold no record of NSDF support specific to rowing.

• Pension for Meritorious Sportspersons

  Lifetime monthly pension (₹20,000 for Olympic/World/Asian/CWG medallists; scaled by tier) for retired internationals who meet the scheme's medal criteria — Government of India.

• Arjun LalIndia

  Arjun Lal Jat (born 7 February 1997) is an Indian professional rower and a subedar in the Indian Army. He had represented India at international competitions including the Asian Games, Asian Rowing Championships, and the Summer Olympics. He won gold at the 2021 and 2022 Asian Rowing Championships.

• Arvind SinghIndia
• AshishIndia

  Ashish (born 10 February 1997) is an Indian rower from Rajasthan. He was part of the Indian rowing team at the 2022 Asian Games, Hangzhou, China that won bronze. He competes in the men's coxless four and men's eight.

• Ashish GoliyanIndia

  Ashish Goliyan (born 11 July 2001) is an Indian rower from Uttarakhand. He was named to the Indian rowing team as a substitute for the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

• Bajrang Lal TakharRajasthan

  Bajrang Lal Takhar (born 5 January 1981) is a retired Indian rower and coach. He is the first Indian to win an individual gold medal in rowing at the Asian Games. Previously, he won a silver medal at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha.

• Balraj PanwarHaryana

  Balraj Panwar (born 26 July 1999) is an Indian rower from Kaimla, Haryana. He competes in the men's single sculls. He qualified to represent India at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris in the men's single sculls and finished 23rd.

• Dattu Baban BhokanalMaharashtra

  Dattu Bhokanal is an Indian rower and an Indian Army Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) who was qualified for the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. 63 seconds. He is the only Indian rower to qualify for the Rio Olympics and is only the ninth rower to represent India in the Olympics.

• Devender Kumar KhandwalRajasthan

  Devender Kumar Khandwal (born 10 July 1986) is an Indian rower. 48.

• Dhananjay PandeIndia

  Dhananjay Uttam Pande (born 11 November 1991) is an Indian rower from Maharashtra. He is named in the Indian rowing team for the 2022 Asian Games at Hangzhou, China. He was part of the men's eight team that won the silver medal in the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

• Dushyant ChauhanIndia

  Dushyant Singh Chauhan is an Indian rower and an Indian Army Junior commission officer from the village of Kulana Jhajjar Haryana. He born in Delhi and primarily competes in single scull events. In 2014 he won bronze at the Asian games won the bronze medal in the Men's lightweight single sculls at the 2014 Asian Games, Incheon and the 2018 Asian Games, Jakarta.

• Inder Pal GrewalIndia

  Inderpal Singh (born 2 March 1975) is an Indian rower. He competed in the men's coxless pair event at the 2000 Summer Olympics. At the 2002 Busan Asian Games, he won a bronze medal in the men's coxless four.

• Jagjit SinghPunjab

  Jagjit Singh Jallah is an international rowing competitor from the state of Punjab, India. Singh was born in the village of Jallah, Ludhiana, Punjab. He is the first Punjabi to receive an Arjuna award in rowing.

• Jakar KhanIndia

  Jakar Khan (Hindi: जाकर खान, born 18 June 1998) is an Indian rower from Rajasthan. He participated as part of the Indian rowing team at the 2022 Asian Games at Hangzhou, China. He competes in the men's quadruple sculls.

• Kasam KhanIndia

  Kasam Khan (born 1 January 1974) is an Indian rower. He competed in the men's coxless pair at the 2000 Summer Olympics.

• Manjeet SinghPunjab

  Manjeet Singh (born 10 October 1988) represented India the Men's Lightweight Double Sculls at the 2008 and 2012 London Olympics. In 2008, his teammate was Devender Khandwal and in 2012, it was Sandeep Kumar.

• Naresh KalwaniyaIndia

  Naresh Kalwaniya (born 15 August 1999) is an Indian rower from Rajasthan. He is named in the Indian rowing team for the 2022 Asian Games at Hangzhou, China. He competes in the men's eight event.

• Neeraj MaanIndia

  Neeraj (born 14 December 1999) is an Indian rower from Uttar Pradesh. He was named to the Indian rowing team for the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, where he won a silver medal in the men's eight.

• Neetish KumarIndia

  Neetish Kumar (Hindi: नीतीश कुमार, born 13 November 1997) is an Indian rower from Uttar Pradesh. He is named in the Indian rowing team for the 2022 Asian Games at Hangzhou, China. He competes in the men's eight event.

• Om PrakashIndia

  Om Prakash is an Indian rower. He won the gold medal in the 2018 Asian Games in Men's Quadruple sculls.

• Parminder SinghHaryana

  Parminder Singh (born 6 February 2000) is an Indian rower from Haryana, He was selected as part of the Indian team for the rowing competitions in the 2022 Huangzhou Asian Games. He was part of the team that won the bronze medal in the men's quadruple sculls.

• Pramila Prava MinzOdisha

  Pramila Prava Minz is an Indian rower from Odisha. She won a bronze medal in Women coxless pair event with Pratima Puhan of Odisha in the 2010 Asian Games.

• Pratima PuhanOdisha

  Pratima Puhan (born 27 August 1991 in Cuttack, Odisha) is an Indian rower. She won a bronze medal in Women coxless pair event with Pramila Prava Minz of Odisha in the 2010 Asian Games.

• Rohit KumarIndia

  Rohit Kumar is an Indian professional rower. He won the bronze medal in the men's lightweight double sculls along with his partner Bhagwan Singh in the Asian Games 2018.

• Saji ThomasIndia

  Saji Thomas is an Indian rower from Alappuzha, Kerala. Thomas was a participant in three Asian Games and World Rowing Championships. He has won 13 medals in various international competitions, including medals in all main boat classes of both sweep rowing and sculling in major regattas – the only Indian with this achievement.

• Sandeep KumarIndia

  Sandeep Kumar (born 12 August 1988) represented India in the Men's Lightweight Double Sculls at the 2012 London Olympics with teammate Manjeet Singh.

• Sawarn SinghPunjab

  Sawarn Singh (Punjabi: ਸਵਰਨ ਸਿੰਘ, born 20 February 1990 in Dalelwala Mansa, Punjab, India) is an Indian rower. He primarily competes in single scull events. In 2011 he won bronze at the Asian Rowing Championships.

• Sukhmeet SinghIndia

  Sukhmeet Singh is an Indian rower and an Indian Army junior commissioned officer. He was a member of the team who won the gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games in Men's Quadruple sculls. He was also a member of the team who won the bronze medal at the 2022 Asian Games in the Men's Quadruple sculls event.

Rules

Rowing is raced over a straight 2,000m course in buoyed lanes, in sculling boats (two oars per rower — single, double and quadruple sculls) and sweep boats (one oar per rower — pair, four and eight, the eight carrying a coxswain). Crews start together from a stakeboat on the aligner's command, and any false start or lane infringement that interferes with another crew draws a warning or exclusion. Boats and oars must meet World Rowing minimum weights, and lightweight events impose crew weight limits verified at weigh-in. Racing is decided on elapsed time to the bow ball crossing the line, with heats, repechages, semi-finals and finals in major regattas. Coastal and indoor rowing follow separate formats, and para-rowing is classified by trunk and leg function.

Authoritative rulebook: RFI. Age-group and school-level variations are published by SGFI and the state associations each season.

Positions

Typical roles across aquatic sports. These are category-level descriptions, not a sourced rowing squad list.

• Swimming
  Freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and medley events at set distances.
• Diving
  Springboard and platform events scored by a judges' panel.
• Water polo
  Seven-a-side team match played in a pool.
• Artistic swimming
  Judged routines set to music, solo, duet or team.
• Open water
  Long-distance racing in a marked open-water course.

Equipment

Standard kit and infrastructure required to train and compete in rowing at a federation-recognised event.

• Racing shell — single, double, quad, pair, four or eight — meeting World Rowing minimum weight
• Sculls or sweep oars with regulated blade dimensions
• Sliding seat, footstretcher with quick-release shoes, riggers and swivels
• Bow ball, bow number and boat-mounted transponder
• Unisuit, ergometer and weights for land training
• Coxswain's amplifier, coach launch and buoyed 2,000m course with stakeboats

Governing/organising body

Major Indian Events

Domestic competitions we hold a source for in rowing.

• Senior National Rowing Championship

  Organized by the Rowing Federation of India (RFI, founded 1976) across all 7 Olympic rowing disciplines. The 41st edition (2024) was held at the Army Rowing Node (College of Military Engineering, Pune) with 474 participants from 27 state federations, reflecting a strong Services/Army/Police presence in the sport.

International Events

Continental and world-level competitions we hold a source for in rowing.

• Asian Games

  India's first-ever Asian Games rowing gold came in 2010 (Guangzhou, via Bajrang Lal Takhar), part of the country's best-ever haul (1 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze). India has not yet won an Olympic medal in rowing, though three rowers qualified for London 2012 and Balraj Panwar competed at Paris 2024, finishing 23rd in men's single sculls.

• Asian Rowing Championships

  India won 10 medals (3 gold, 5 silver, 2 bronze) at the 2025 edition in Vietnam, led by Olympian Balraj Panwar's gold in men's single sculls. The same event marked a historic breakthrough for Indian women's rowing — Gurbani Kaur and Diljot Kaur's silver in the lightweight women's pair ended a 15-year medal drought for Indian women at this championship.

Leagues

No dedicated professional league is currently catalogued for rowing. The national championship under RFI remains the top domestic competition.

International Players

Globally recognised rowing athletes to know outside India.

The international federation for rowing maintains the current world ranking — check the federation site for the up-to-date top names.

Career Options

Ways to build a career in rowing — on the field, on the sidelines and behind the scenes.

• Rowing's roots in India trace back to 1858, when the Calcutta Rowing Club was founded during the British era
• The Army Rowing Node in Pune (operational since 2009) is central to India's development pipeline and regularly hosts the National Championships
• Playing pathway through RFI's state federations and Services teams — Army, Navy, Air Force and Police sports control boards feed a substantial share of national-level rowers
• Coaching pathway through RFI, affiliated to World Rowing and the Asian Rowing Federation

• SAI Eastern Centre, KolkataElite
  Kolkata, West Bengal · Since 1976

  Regional Olympic pipeline for eastern India across archery, athletics, gymnastics, women's hockey and table tennis.

• Indian Navy Sports AcademyElite
  Mumbai, Maharashtra · Since 1976

  Premier water-sports academy of the Indian armed forces.

• Hockey Stadium, Sector 42, ChandigarhNational
  Chandigarh, Chandigarh

  Chandigarh's Khelo India State Centre of Excellence for hockey, boxing and rowing, and the home of SAI's Chandigarh regional centre since 2009.

• J&K Sports Council Water Sports Academy, Srinagar and M.A. Stadium Fencing Academy, JammuNational
  Srinagar and Jammu, Jammu & Kashmir

  Jammu & Kashmir's Khelo India State Centre of Excellence: rowing at Srinagar's water sports academy and fencing at M.A. Stadium, Jammu.

• Regional Sports School, HakimpetNational
  Hakimpet, Telangana

  Telangana's Khelo India State Centre of Excellence at Hakimpet, and the second-largest KISCE by trainee numbers.

• SAI National Centre of Excellence, AllepeyNational
  Alappuzha, Kerala

  SAI's National Centre of Excellence for rowing, kayaking and canoeing in Kerala's backwater district.

• SAI Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee National Centre of Excellence, MumbaiNational
  Mumbai, Maharashtra

  SAI's Mumbai centre at Kandivali — both a National Centre of Excellence and the regional centre for Maharashtra, Goa, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli.

• SAI National Centre of Excellence, JagatpurNational
  Cuttack, Odisha

  SAI's water-sports National Centre of Excellence at Jagatpur, Cuttack.

• Tata Steel Adventure Foundation Academy, JamshedpurState
  Jamshedpur, Jharkhand

  Khelo India accredited academy in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand. Accredited disciplines as published: Rowing.

• Kai. Sau. Vandana Kundlik Borhade Sanstha, NasikState
  Nashik, Maharashtra

  Khelo India accredited academy in Nashik, Maharashtra. Accredited disciplines as published: Rowing.

• MIT Art, Design and Technology University, Loni Kalbhor, Pune, MaharashtraState
  Pune, Maharashtra

  Khelo India accredited academy in Pune, Maharashtra. Accredited disciplines as published: Rowing.

• Rowing Academy, RoparState
  Ropar, Punjab

  Khelo India accredited academy in Ropar, Punjab. Accredited disciplines as published: Rowing.

Central and state schemes that fund training, stipends and awards for rowing athletes and academies.

• Government of Maharashtra (Sports and Youth Services)
  Maharashtra 5% Reservation for Meritorious Sportspersons (revised policy, 2026)

  On 8 September 2026 the Maharashtra Cabinet approved a revised policy for the 5 per cent parallel reservation for meritorious sportspersons in direct recruitment in state government and semi-government bodies. Sports included in at least three consecutive Summer Olympic Games after 2005 qualify, and Kabaddi, Kho-Kho, Chess, Mallakhamb and Cricket have been added as regional sports. Under the revised policy, sports certificates must be verified through a digital Sports E-Certificate system within three months, and earlier government resolutions on the quota were rescinded.

• Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), a Government of India enterprise under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas
  IndianOil Divyashakti Para-Sports Scholarship Scheme

  Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), a Government of India enterprise, offers 100 para-sports scholarships (50 for men, 50 for women) in two categories, Para Scholar and Elite Para Scholar, across 16 para games including badminton. This is a public-sector company scheme, not a government department scheme. A scholarship runs for a maximum of three years, with a performance review after each year.

• Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
  Recruitment of Meritorious Sportspersons to Group C Posts in the Central Government (DoPT Sports Quota)

  Under instructions of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), central government ministries and departments can directly recruit meritorious sportspersons to Group C posts (including erstwhile Group D) that are filled by direct recruitment, in relaxation of the normal recruitment procedure. The list of qualifying sports has 65 disciplines (63 listed in 2020, with Tennis Ball Cricket added in January 2021 and Yogasana in June 2022). Kudo, Karate, Taekwondo, Golf, Judo, Boxing, Wrestling, Badminton, Cricket and Tennis are among them. Railways and a few scientific and atomic-energy services follow separate rules.

• Department of Sports and Youth Welfare, Government of Madhya Pradesh
  Madhya Pradesh State Water Sports Academy of Excellence, Bhopal

  A state sports academy of the Madhya Pradesh Department of Sports and Youth Welfare, inaugurated in January 2007 in Bhopal, which trains athletes in sailing, rowing, kayaking, canoeing and canoe slalom. The department's page says that training uses the Upper Lake for rowing and sailing and the Lower Lake for kayaking and canoeing, with a natural slalom course at Maheshwar, modern hostel accommodation, a fitness centre, a physio room, a practice pool and coaching staff. The academy keeps boarding and day-boarding player records, including for 2025-26. The Chief Minister said in 2026 that Madhya Pradesh has 11 sports academies covering 18 disciplines.

• Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports / Sports Authority of India
  Special Area Games (SAG)

  SAG centers identify and nurture natural talent from specific regions/communities (tribal, coastal, hilly) for modern competitive sports.

FAQs

Common questions about rowing in India.

Rowing in every state & UT

Dedicated pages for Rowing in each Indian state and Union Territory — academies, schemes, athletes and how to start.

• Rowing in Andhra Pradesh
• Rowing in Arunachal Pradesh
• Rowing in Assam
• Rowing in Bihar
• Rowing in Chhattisgarh
• Rowing in Goa
• Rowing in Gujarat
• Rowing in Haryana
• Rowing in Himachal Pradesh
• Rowing in Jharkhand
• Rowing in Karnataka
• Rowing in Kerala
• Rowing in Madhya Pradesh
• Rowing in Maharashtra
• Rowing in Manipur
• Rowing in Meghalaya
• Rowing in Mizoram
• Rowing in Nagaland
• Rowing in Odisha
• Rowing in Punjab
• Rowing in Rajasthan
• Rowing in Sikkim
• Rowing in Tamil Nadu
• Rowing in Telangana
• Rowing in Tripura
• Rowing in Uttar Pradesh
• Rowing in Uttarakhand
• Rowing in West Bengal
• Rowing in Andaman & Nicobar Islands
• Rowing in Chandigarh
• Rowing in Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu
• Rowing in Delhi
• Rowing in Jammu & Kashmir
• Rowing in Ladakh
• Rowing in Lakshadweep
• Rowing in Puducherry