Abhinav Bhatnagar of Dehradun has once again brought glory to the country in the sports world through his hard work and coaching. Satnam Singh, a disciple of Abhinav.
Bhatnagar, head coach of the Indian Navy Rowing Team, brought glory to the country by winning the gold medal in the quadruple scull at the Asian Rowing Championships held in Vietnam from October 13 to 19, 2025.
Abhinav Bhatnagar began rowing in 2015. Just one year later, he won his first national medal (silver) in 2016 and became the national champion (gold) in 2017. He then represented India at the Asian Rowing Championships held in Thailand in 2019.
After COVID-19, Abhinav began his journey from player to coach. He completed a one-year diploma in sports coaching, where he topped his batch and ranked 11th among 737 coaches across the country.
The athletes trained under his coaching are also performing exceptionally well. His disciple, Satnam Singh, won the National Championship in 2023, defeating a 2020 Olympic participant. Two of his players brought honor to the Navy and India by winning bronze medals at the Asian Games (China).
Following this, Abhinav was appointed coach of the Services Team (combined Navy and Army), where his team dominated the National Games (Goa 2023) by winning gold medals in all six events.
His players also won numerous medals at the National Games and National Championships held in Tehri. Furthermore, at the National Rowing Indoor Championship (Punjab 2024), three of his players broke India’s record, winning three gold and one bronze medals.
Following these impressive achievements, Abhinav Bhatnagar was appointed coach of the Indian men’s and women’s teams for the Asian Rowing Indoor Championship (Malaysia 2024), where India performed exceptionally well, winning 19 medals (eight gold, seven silver, and four bronze).
Abhinav’s goal now is to ensure maximum participation of Navy players in the Asian Games (Asiad) to be held in Japan next year and then in the Olympic Games to be held in 2028.
