CHENNAI: As New Year 2024 dawned, rower Ajay Tyagi was in a happy space and dreaming of qualification for the Paris Olympics. And why not? He was already in the national camp and the next few months were going to present him ample opportunities to make it to his maiden Games.
Things, however, went downhill from there as he was excluded from the camp and went out of contention to qualify for the marquee event. It was a difficult period for Tyagi, a Havildar in the Indian Army, who even thought of quitting the sport and communicated the same to his coaches. "Had they not convinced me, I would have left the sport last year," 25-year-old Tyagi told this daily following his return from Tasmania, Australia where he won two gold and a silver at the 2025 Australian Rowing Championships.
He then made a return to the sport during the Indoor Nationals in Moga, Punjab in July 2024 and won gold in the lightweight pair event. "Representing the country in the Olympics is every athlete's dream and I was no different. I don't know why I was excluded from the camp ahead of the 2024 Games. I didn't compete at the 2024 National Championships as I was told to focus on my preparations. Later, they picked only gold medallists from the nationals for the camp."
Tyagi's return coincided with the Indian Army hiring services of Australian coach Antony Patterson and it changed his outlook towards the sport completely. "He brought his training methods. We were made to take tests every month and our progress was gauged from our performances there. I saw huge improvements in my timings both in water and on ergometer. My timings have improved by 6-7 seconds outdoors while the timings on ergometer saw an improvement by four seconds. Earlier, we used to work on ergometer for 30 minutes but the foreign coach made us work there for an hour. It improved our stamina," noted the rower, who hails from Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.
An improved Tyagi was ready for his second stint and the hard miles he had done started to bear fruit as he went on a medal-winning streak. It all started with his first maiden gold of the National Games in February in Uttarakhand. He finished on the top of the podium at the lightweight men's double sculls along with his partner Ujjwal Kumar Singh.
It was his non-participation in the national championships that led to his ouster from the all-important camp and he more than made up for it when the 2025 edition began in Bhopal last month.
"We won two gold medals in the nationals. Ujjwal and I continued from where we left in the National Games and pocketed the lightweight men's double sculls gold with a timing of 6:59.1. Then we won the men's quadruple sculls gold. I along with Karamjit Singh, Ujjwal and Arvind Singh clocked 6:12.9 to finish on the top. It was very special as this was the event which I missed last year and was not included in the camp for Olympic qualification. Making a winning return boosted my confidence a lot."
The next target is Asian Championship and World Military Championships, which India may host either at the Army Rowing Node in Pune or Bhopal. "We have been given a few days break but we will soon gather at the ARN in Pune to prepare for the continental event. The bigger target is the Asian Games scheduled next year. It will be the first step towards my Olympic dream. I might have missed out on a chance to compete in Paris but will leave no stone unturned to qualify for the 2028 Games," signed off the rower.
Only time will tell what lies ahead for Tyagi but the army rower looks determined to make the next three years memorable for him by fulfilling his Olympic dream.
