CHENNAI: With their best bet in single sculls, Satnam Singh, opting for double sculls ahead of the Asian Games last year, the Rowing Federation of India (RFI), at one stage, deliberated not to send an entry in that category. Fortunately, the RFI president Rajlaxmi Singh Deo then decided to test freshers Balraj Panwar and Kulwinder Singh, both hailing from the Services Sports Control Board (SSCB). Balraj edged past Kulwinder in the best-of-three races to book a place in the national team for the showpiece continental event.
A sepoy with the Indian Army, Balraj narrowly missed bronze at the Asian Games finishing fourth but the experience he gained in Hangzhou paid off on Sunday as the 25-year-old from Karnal, Haryana earned an Olympic quota in single sculls at the Qualification Championships at Chungju, South Korea. He clocked 7:01.27 minutes to finish third in the 2000m race and seal the quota.
In the men's single sculls, the top five make the Olympic cut. Balraj is expected to be India's lone entry in rowing in Paris as Ujjwal Kumar and Arvind Singh finished third in the men's lightweight double sculls. Unlike single sculls, the top two earn the quota in the double sculls. World Qualifier will be the last qualifying event in rowing but chances of Indian rowers winning quota there is highly unlikely.
"I am glad that I booked a ticket for the Paris Games," Balraj told this daily. Interestingly, Balraj started rowing only four years ago. He always wanted to serve in the Indian Army and given his tall frame (6 feet), Sunil Kumar, coach at Bengal Engineering Group, Roorkee, asked Balraj to take up rowing in 2020. Soon after being initiated into the sport, he did well in the inter-battalion and inter-centre competitions to get entry into the Army Rowing Node in Pune in October 2021.
Hailing from a modest background, Balraj lost his father Randhir Singh when he was 11. His mother, Kamla Devi, worked in garment factories to earn livelihood for the family comprising six children (four daughters and two sons). Once Balraj got recruited into the Indian Army, he started taking care of the family's expenses. "She (mother) is over the moon with my qualification for Olympics. She worked in factories to make sure we did not sleep hungry. I hope to perform to the best of my potential in the Olympics to make her the proudest mother in the world," added Balraj.
The team is expected to return to the country on Tuesday. Balraj says the RFI and the coaches will certainly arrange exposure trips for him ahead of the Games. "Nothing has been decided yet but I am hopeful the federation and coaches will come up with a plan so that I can get the best preparations before the Olympics."
Apart from Balraj, para-rowers Narayana Konganapalle and Anita finished first in their qualification race with a timing of 7:50.80 minutes and earned a quota for the Paralympics in mixed double sculls. Meanwhile, Salman Khan and Nitin Deol on Saturday won a gold medal in the men's double sculls event in the Asian Rowing Cup, which was held simultaneously with the Asian Qualifiers.