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The Times of India
The Times of India
Sport
K Kumaraswamy | TNN

Asiad pressure off, Indian rowers eye strong outing in World Cups

Indian rowers will look to make the most of the opportunity when they compete in World Cup 1 in Belgrade, Serbia, from Friday.

"We had originally planned to use this and World Cup 2 (Jun 17-19, Poland) as preparation for the Asian Games. Unfortunately, the Asiad has been postponed and the decision was made only couple of weeks ago," India head coach Ismail Baig said from Belgrade.

"As such we were not targeting medals. We wanted to get exposure because there are quite a few of youngsters in the squad. But now we have to change our mindset and strive for the best," the Dronacharya awardee added.

India have reached Belgrade with a 17-man squad. With the pressure of Asian Games off their back, the team will be keen to compete with the best with a free mind.

"Our planning was geared towards peaking in September. Now we need to adapt and give our best," Baig said.

Asian Games host and continental powerhouse China have sent one of the biggest squads in the competition.

The three World Cups, held annually, form the lead up to the World Championships. The series comprise 14 Olympic events and a combination of non-Olympic events.

The World Cups offer points for each event.

Unlike the Olympics and the World Championships, the World Cups allow any number of entries in an event for participating nations.

India will be focussing on the sculling events, especially the lightweight categories.

Arvind Singh and Arjun Lal Jat, who finished in the top 12 at the Tokyo Olympics, couldn't have asked for a tougher start to their campaign as they have been placed in Heat 3, which also has China and the Czech Republic besides two teams from Egypt.

Arwinder Singh and Ajay Tyagi, the other team in the fray, will start in Heat 1 alongside Belgium, Ukraine and two Austrian teams.

The top 3 from each heat advance to the semifinals and the fourth placed team to the repechage.

In single scull, Dushyant Chauhan will race in Heat 2 against Montenegro, Germany, and Serbia.

India also have entered two teams in cox-less fours and quadruple sculls.

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