“Had goosebumps watching Tricolour go up on podium”: Bronze medalist rower Babu Lal

Hangzhou [China]: Indian rower Babu Lal Yadav, who clinched a bronze medal in the ongoing Asian Games on Sunday, said he had goosebumps after seeing the Indian flag going up on the podium in Hangzhou, China.

Lekh Ram and Babu Lal Yadav clinched India’s third and second rowing medal today to secure a podium finish.

Babu Lal, who started rowing just two years ago, relived the range of emotions that he went through while standing on the podium to receive his medal.

“I had goosebumps watching the Tricolour go up slowly on the podium,” Babu Lal told media.

He credited the Indian army as well as others for their success.

“We are very happy to have won this medal for the country. The credit for our success goes to the Indian army, our coaches, family members, and the people of our country,” Babu Lal added.

Lekh Ram also thanked his coaches after winning the medal.

“I have no words to express my happiness. Our coaches put us through long hours of practice. The idea was to bring all that we had practised into the main event. I would like to attribute our success to the Indian army, our coaches, and family members,” Leh Ram told media.

The pair wasn’t the only team to clinch a medal for India in rowing as earlier in the day, Arjun Lal Jat and Arvind Singh won India’s second silver medal in the Asian Games after finishing marginally behind China in the final of the men’s rowing lightweight double sculls.

The Indians, who finished 11th in the Tokyo Olympics, upset the odds to seal their place on the podium.

The Army men clocked 6:28:18s in Men’s Lightweight Doubles Scull Final A to clinch India’s second silver medal of the day.

Chinese pair of Fan Junjie and Sun Man secured the top spot, clocking 6:23.16s. With this, China have already assured themselves a second gold in the Asian Games. Uzbekistan settled for a bronze medal, clocking 6:33.42s.

Throughout the contest, the Indian pair gave the hosts a run for their money as they were breathing down their necks for the entire time.

With 500m to go, China managed to open up a bigger gap by building a lead of 2.73 seconds. Uzbekistan maintained their position in third.