Arjun Lal Jat, Arvind Singh finish fifth in Tokyo Olympics rowing heats
The Indian rowers, competing in the lightweight men's double sculls event, will compete in the repechage round next.
Indian rowers Arjun Lal Jat and Arvind Singh finished fifth in their heats of the lightweight men's double sculls event at the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday.
Competing in a six-crew heat at the Sea Forest Waterway, the Indian duo clocked 6:40.33, eking ahead of Uruguay’s Bruno Cetraro Berriolo and Felipe Ferreira in the final 500 metres, for a respectable finish.
Ireland’s Fintan McCarthy and Paul O’Donovan won the race in 6:23.74 while Jiri Simanek and Miroslav Vrastil of the Czech Republic came in second with a timing of 6:28.10
The two teams have sealed their places in the semi-finals while the remaining four sides will head into the repechage round.
There were three heats in all in the lightweight men's double sculls with six entries in each. The top two from each heat advanced to the semi-finals.
The repechage round allows boats a second chance to qualify for the semi-finals.
Paired alongside world champions in the event, Fintan McCarthy and Paul O’donovan, the Indians struggled to generate enough pace and saw themselves relegated to the bottom of the pile for most of the race.
But with the fifth-placed Bruno Berriolo And Felipe Ferreira tiring as the race progressed, the Indians managed to capitalise on their opponents to put up an improved show that could help them heading into the repechage rounds.
The repechage rounds will be held on Sunday, July 25.