Guangzhou: Bajrang Lal Takhar gave the nation its maiden rowing gold medal as Indian rowers capped their best performance in the Asian Games with five medals here on Friday.
On the final day of the rowing competition, India won a gold, a silver and bronze for a total haul of five medals at the International Rowing Center. Four years ago at the Doha Asian Games, Indian rowers had won two silvers and a bronze.
Bajrang Lal triumphed in the men's single sculls event, while Pratima Puhana and Pramila Prava Minz became the first Indian women to win an Asian Games medal with their bronze in the pair rowing event.
India also bagged the silver in the men's eight rowing event.
Takhar, who also gave India its first silver medal at Doha, clocked seven minutes 4.78 seconds to win the second gold for India in the 2010 Asian Games after cueist Pankaj Advani.
The silver went to Chinese Taipei's Ming Hui Wang with a timing of seven minutes 7.33 seconds while Iraq's Haeider Hamarsheied clocked seven minutes 10.10 seconds to settle for the bronze.
Takhar, an Arjuna Award winner, led the 2,000 metres race right from the start and won the gold comfortably. He finished the first 500 metres in one minute 39.82 seconds and covered 1,000 metres in three minutes 26.32 second and 1500 metres in five minutes 13.56 seconds.
Pratima and Prava Pramila clocked seven minutes 47.50 seconds to win the bronze behind China and Kazakshtan in the 2,000 metres race.
Chinese duo Sun Zhengping and Ling Hong clocked seven minutes 22.06 seconds for the gold and Kazakh girls Oxana Nazarova and Svetlana Germanovich had a timing of seven minutes 35.13 seconds.
The bronze came after Bajrang Lal won the historic gold medal.
An inspired Pratima and Pramila, starting in the fourth lane, covered the first 500m in one minute 54.21 secs to be fourth, but covered the half-way mark in three minites 51.40 seconds to move to the third place. The girls held their position for the remaining 1,000 metres to win the bronze.
The Indian team comprising Anil Kumar, Girraj Sing, Saji Thomas, Lokesh Kumar, Manjeet Singh, Rajesh Kumar Yadav, Ranjit Singh, Satish Joshi and Jenil Krishnan, finished the 2,000 metres race with a timing of five minutes 49.50 seconds in men's eight rowing event for the silver.
The gold went to the Chinese team of Zhang Fangbing, Zheng Xiaolong, Zhu Ziqiang, Guo Xiaobing, Zhou Yinan, Wang Xiangdang, Xue Feng, Qu Xiaoming and Zhang Dechang with a timing of five minutes 37.44 seconds.
The Uzbekistan team of Artyom Kudryashov, Sergey Tyan, Efim Kuznetsov, Damir Naurzaliyev, Aleksandr Didrih, Abdurasul Muhammadiev, Zafar Usmonov, Botir Murodov, and Yokub Khamzaev settled for the bronze in five minutes 55.96 seconds.
In the women's lightweight quadruple, India missed a medal after the trio of Amusana Devi Morerangthem, Dittymol Varghese and Tharakurian Priyachanga Mayum finished fourth with a timing of six minutes 57.73sec.
On Thursday, India won two silver medals in rowing in the men's four and lightweight men's four rowing events. Anil Kumar, Saji Thomas, Ranjit Singh and Jenil Krishnan won silver in men's four event while Lokesh Kumar, Manjeet Singh, Rajesh Kumar Yadav and Satish Joshi came second in the lightweight men's four.