China Dominates Rowing at Asian Games

The Asian Games in Guangzhou, China saw final races in 14 rowing events on 18 and 19 November. The host country has earned most medals (10 gold medals), followed by Japan (2 gold, 2 silver, and 1 bronze medal), India (1-3-1), Iran (1-0-1), South Korea (0-3-3), Vietnam (0-2-0), Uzbekistan (0-1-4), Hong Kong (0-1-1), Kazakhstan (0-1-1), Chinese Taipei (i.e. Taiwan; 0-1-0), Iraq (0-0-1), and Thailand (0-0-1). The medal standings and results have been posted on the official website of the Asian Games and selectively re-published by some media outlets around the world.

Screenshot from the official website of the Asian Games.

As obvious from the results, rowers competed on the standard two kilometres’ distance. Men’s lightweight single saw the victory of Iran’s under-23 world champion, Mohsen Shadi Naghadeh (Persian: محسن شادی نقده) ahead of Japan’s Olympian and the world champion of 2000 in lightweight quad, Daisaku Takeda (Japanese: 武田 大作). The Iranian finished in a remarkable 6:55.62 while the Japanese’s time was 7:00.43.

Four Bulgarians Row for Azerbaijan, One About to Get Medal

Azerbaijan's Aleksandar Aleksandrov won his heat in the fastest time of all single scullers in the World Rowing Under 23 Championships in Brest, Belarus, the FISA website reported on Thursday, 22 July. Representing his native Bulgaria until last year, Aleksandrov finished fifth in this event in 2009 and was the junior world champion in single in 2007 and 2008. Now he seems to be the favourite for the upcoming finals, due to win the first medal ever from a world rowing event for Azerbaijan.

Aleksandrov was a part of what seems to be the largest citizenship transfer ever in world rowing. Earlier this year, he got an Azerbaijani passport along with three other Bulgarian rowers: Radoslav Drenovski (male), Iskra Angelova and Toni Boteva (both female).