Couldn't win Asiad gold due to high fever, reveals rower Dattu

Dattu Bhokanal

Ace rower Dattu Bhokanal, who was part of India's gold medal winning team in the men's quadruple sculls event at the Asian Games, on Saturday said his single sculls performance was affected due to high fever.

Besides the gold, India won two bronze medals and were in five finals of the rowing competition. Dattu had finished sixth in the men's single sculls competition in the Asiad after his boat had capsized. Despite a good start, the rower lost momentum and missed a podium finish. Dushyant Chauhan, who had won bronze in lightweight single sculls at Incheon, defended his third place in the event while Bhagwan Singh and Rohit Kumar helped India win another bronze in the men's lightweight double sculls.

"I couldn't win gold due to high fever and was not fit even before the tournament. Since August 19, I had fever, but still managed to train," Dattu said. "On race day [August 23], my boat [single sculls] toppled and I fell into the water. My ears and nose got blocked and it aggravated my fever," he added. "I could have performed much better had I not had health issues to battle with," Dattu said.

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