Indian rowers Arjun Lal and Arvind Singh qualify for Olympics
Indian rowers Arjun Lal Jat and Arvind Singh qualified for the Olympics in the men's lightweight double sculls event after finishing second in the final race of Asia/Oceania Continental Qualifying Regatta in Tokyo on Friday. Jakar Khan finished fourth in the men's singles sculls final which offers five Olympic quotas but he missed out as a country gets one qualifying spot from this regatta.
Top three qualify in men's lightweight double sculls event
The top three qualify for Olympics in the men's lightweight double sculls event. "A country can qualify in only one boat from this regatta and since Arjun Lal Jat and Arvind Singh had finished second in the men's lightweight double sculls, they will qualify," the Rowing Federation of India President Rajlaxmi Singh Deo told PTI.
Arjun, Arvind will be only Indian rowers in Tokyo Games
"Jakar Khan finished fourth in men's singles sculls and unfortunately, he will not qualify for Olympics. Arjun Lal and Arvind Singh were better placed as they were second," she added. Arjun Lal and Arvind will be the only Indian rowers in Tokyo Games which open on July 23 as the country will not participate in other Olympic qualifiers due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This will be our only participation in the Olympics: Deo
"There is another Olympic qualifier in Italy but we are not sending anybody due to the COVID-19 situation. This will be our only participation in the Olympics," Deo said referring to the COVID-19 second wave which has led to several countries imposing bans on flights from India. A 14-member Indian team participated in the event held at the Sea Forest Waterway on Tokyo Bay.
Coronavirus: India reports biggest spike of 4.14 lakh new cases
Meanwhile, India reported a record number of 4.14 lakh fresh coronavirus infections and 3,915 more fatalities on Friday. The nationwide tally now stands at 2.14 crore while the test positivity rate rose slightly to 22.6 percent.
