Overview
- Several Indian rowers said they were moved out of their originally entered events and replaced by reserves following a team managers' meeting on Monday, prompting immediate upset.
- Named shifts reported include Arvind Singh moved from single sculls to quadruple sculls and Balraj Panwar shifted to single sculls, with other swaps in the men's pair, coxless four and double sculls.
- Affected athletes described severe mental distress, with some refusing food and threatening to skip training or stage a strike as team morale and readiness deteriorated.
- Players allege the changes went beyond the rule that allows up to 50% crew alteration for medical emergencies, while a senior official cited that 50% limit as the basis for the swaps.
- The dispute comes at a Games already disrupted by Typhoon Dujuan and other logistics problems and coincides with the OCA's announcement of a provisional suspension for a Thai badminton player after an adverse finding for furosemide.