Scullers win two silvers

Doha, Dec 7 (UNI) Indian scullers rowed their way to glory winning two Silver medals -- in Men's Single Sculls and Men's Four events -- in the rowing competition of the Asian Games at West Bay Lagoon here today.

A gritty Bajranglal Takhar put up a tremendous show as he clocked 3:39.43 to finish second in the Men's Single Scull event while in the Men's Four final, it was the quartet of Dharmesh Sangwan, Jenil Krishnan, Sukhjeet Singh and Satish Joshi that finished second on the podium.

Starting in lane four, Takhar raced to the lead which he maintained for the first 250m before being overtaken by Eun Chul Shin of South Korea.

The Indian was breathing under his neck in the last 500m but Shin clung on to the lead to win the Gold with a timing of 3:38.04.

Kazakh Mikhail Garnik (3:44.58) took the Bronze.

Takhar dedicated the Silver to his countrymen and the team mates who cheered loud for him.

''I was leading for the first 250m after which, the Korean overtook me. I tried my best but could not catch him. Still, I think it is a decent finish,'' an elated Takahr told UNI.

As if buoyed by this Silver, Indian quartet in the Men's Four final put up an excellent show and clocked 3:08.98 to take the second place on the podium behind Japan (3:04.48). Indonesia (3:09.83) bagged the Bronze.

The Indians were behind by just a second after the first 500m but ran out of steam as the Japanese widened the chasm. However, the Indians were satisfied with their performance.

''Everything went perfect for us,'' said Satish and added, '' We're happy to win the medal.'' Team mate Jenil said, ''We were not scared of Japan but were wary of China. We tried our best and it paid off.'' UNI HSB DH GC1619