New Delhi: Top Indian kayakers and canoers will be paddling to secure Paris 2024 quotas at the Asian Canoe Sprint Olympic Qualifier, scheduled to start at the Sea Forest Waterway in Tokyo, Japan on Thursday.
The 2024 Asian Canoe Sprint Championships will come to an end on April 21. Thirteen Indian competitors will compete in the Tokyo event out of which 10 will fight for the Olympic quota, whereas the remaining three will be competing in non-Olympic categories and will just be chasing medals.
Arjun Singh and Sunil Singh Salam, bronze medallists at the Asian Games, will spearhead India’s push for medals and Paris 2024 quotas in Tokyo. The other quota contenders from the Indian contingent are Varinder Singh (men’s K1 1000m), Rimson Mairembam/Harshwardhan Singh Shaktawat (men’s K2 500m), Gyaneshwor Singh Philem (men’s C1 1000m), Parvathy Geetha/Soniya Devi Phairembam (women’s K2 500m), and Neha Devi Leichonbam/Kaveri (women’s C2 500m).
Olympic quotas will be guaranteed to the top two boats in the men’s and women’s K1 and C1 events as well as the top boat in the men’s and women’s K2 and C2 events.
India has never participated in an Olympic canoe competition. However, Kirti Kewat participated in the Girls’ Obstacle Slalom and head-to-head events at the 2014 Youth Olympics.
The previous biennial continental championship took place in 2022 at Rayong, Thailand. The women’s C4 200m team from India, consisting of Anjali Bashishth, Shivani Verma, Kaveri Dimar, and Namita Chandel, earned a bronze medal at the event.
The 2024 Asian Paracanoe Sprint Championships will also be held parallelly in Tokyo and Indian para-athletes will also be seen in action there.
Asian Canoe Sprint Olympic Qualifier 2024: India team
Olympic categories
Men’s K1 1000m: Varinder Singh
Men’s K2 500m: Rimson Mairembam/Harshwardhan Singh Shaktawat
Men’s C1 1000m: Gyaneshwor Singh Philem
Men’s C2 500m: Arjun Singh/Sunil Singh Salam
Women’s K2 500m: Parvathy Geetha/Soniya Devi Phairembam
Women’s C2 500m: Neha Devi Leichonbam/Kaveri
Non-Olympic categories
Men’s K1 200m: Naocha Singh Laitonjam
Women’s C1 500m: Megha Pradeep
Mixed K2 500m: Prohit Baroi/Parvathy Geetha
(IANS)
