Hyderabad to host National Rowing Championships from December 2

Hyderabad: The 38th senior National Rowing Championship for men and women would begin at the Hussain Sagar Lake here from December 2.

Over 500 rowers, including top rowers Arjun Lal, Arvind Singh, Sawarn Singh and Sukhmeet Singh, and officials from 27 states and affiliated associations are taking part in the week-long event to be held till December 7.

The event is being held under the aegis of the Telangana Rowing Association (TRA)`, national rowing coach Ismail Baig told reporters here on Thursday.

The championships would be held in 2,000 metres and 500 metres in the categories of single scull, double scull, light weight, open and civil double scull among others, he said.

Top performers would go for the camp (Bhopal or Pune) and subsequently get shortlisted/selected for the qualifiers to be held in South Korea in April next year for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, he said.

The organising committee of the championships has introduced GPS technology to track the precise movement of the rowing shell using integrated sensors and the data generated can be accessed by rowers using a smartphone.

Technology provides athletes with real-time feedback on important data like stroke-rate, speed and distance and each rower would be able to see accuracy of measurement data to assess the parameters that necessitate improvement for a better performance in the race, other members of the committee said.

In order to encourage children to take up the sport, TRA urges schools to send their students to witness the championship.

The interested schools may contact 9849469359 to know the formalities.