Incheon: Indian rower Dushiant Dushyant squandered a bright chance to win a gold as he settled for a bronze in men's light single sculls event on the fifth day of competitions at the 17th Asian Games here on Wednesday.
Dushyant was in a good lead over his opponents midway into the 2000m-distance contest but lost steam afterwards to settle for a third place with a timing of 7:26.57 at Chungju Tangeum Lake Rowing Center. Kwan Hoi Lok of Hong Kong won the gold in 7:25.04 while Hakbeom Lee of South Korea finished second in 7:25.95.
The Indian was second after the first 500m but rowed his way to top spot at the 1000m mark. He had a very poor next 500m but still managed to lead the pack. But, Dushyant could not match a strong finish from the rower from Hong Kong and South Korea in the final 500m and had to be content with the bronze.
The Indian clocked fourth best times in the third and fourth quarters of the contest. Dushyant's bronze is the first medal by Indian rowers in this edition of the Asian Games.
India had won five medals in 2010 with one gold, three silver and one bronze.
