Rowers Bhonkanal, Sawarn gear up to make a big splash at Asiad

Their preparations going well in Pune, rowers Dattu Baban Bhonkanal and Sawarn Singhsound upbeat about their medal chances in the upcoming Asian Games.

"The preparation is going well (for the Asian Games). There is a lot of difference in the practise, between what I used to do earlier and now.

"We are going this year with the preparation to bag a medal and we have to bring a gold (medal),"rower Bhonkanal told PTI.

The Asian Games are starting on August 18 in Indonesia and will be hosted by two cities - Jakarta and Palembang.

Bhokanal and other oarsmen are training at the Army Rowing Node at the College of Engineering, Pune.

He had clinched a silver medal at the 2015 Asian Championships and also participated in the Rio Olympics one year later, finishing in the 13th place.

Bhonkanal stresses that there has been improvement in his timing since the 2014 Asian Games held at Incheon, South Korea.

"There is a difference in the timing between 2014 (Asian Games) and now. The timing has improved at every event by 7/8/9 seconds. Since I got a lot of time, I have been able to develop my body," added Bhonkanal.

Asked which countries could pose a challenge to India, the rower said "China, Japan, Iran are there."