This medal was for 1.4 billion people: Rower Satnam Singh after historic Asian Games bronze

Since the Asian Games began in 1951, India had never won a medal in the Mens Double Sculls event. Punjab-based Satnam partnered with Salman to bag the bronze for India, registering a time of 6:13.25 at the Nagaragawa International Regatta Course. This marked his second Asian Games medal; Satnam had won the bronze in the quadruple sculls event in Hangzhou.

Speaking to ANI, Satnam said he was delighted to win the bronze medal and expressed hope that the country would win more medals in the event in the future.

I am very happy from the bottom of my heart that we won a bronze medal in the men's double sculls at the Asian Games. This is India's first medal since 1951, and we hope to bring home more medals in this event in the future, he said.

Satnam said the moment of standing on the podium with the Indian flag rising was an indescribable feeling that only a sportsperson could truly understand. He said the medal belonged not just to him but to Indias 1.4 billion people, adding that the historic achievement brought immense happiness and inspired them to aim for even better results in the event in the future.

I don't think anyone but a sportsman can truly feel this moment. I mean, people are watching on TV, but this medal wasn't just mine. It was a medal for 1.4 billion people. It was India's first medal in this event (since 1951), so we were just incredibly happybeyond happy. We hope to do even better in this event going forward, he said.

Satnam credited the government, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) for supporting the athletes with financial assistance, training facilities and resources. He said training camps in Europe and participation in international competitions against top teams helped boost their confidence ahead of the Asian Games.

We have received a lot of support from the government, as well as from SAI. There's also a scheme called TOPS (Target Olympic Podium Scheme). Through that, we get a monthly pocket money and whatever else we need; we ask for it, and they always provide it. Coming to SAI, we had a really great budget this time. We had training camps in Europe, and we were made to participate in as many world-level competitions as possible, and we competed against some of the best teams. This really boosted our confidence level before the Asian Games, he told ANI.

Satnams father, Amrik Singh, said the family was overjoyed when they received the news of his medal win. He added that Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann visited their home three to four days later to congratulate Satnam and that the achievement brought happiness to the entire village.

When we got the call at home about the medal, we were so happy. Everyone at home was really happy. 3-4 days later, CM Bhagwant Mann came to our house to meet him. The whole village was very happy, he said. (ANI)