Balraj Panwar secured India's first Paris Olympics quota in rowing by finishing third in the men's single scull event of the 2024 World Asian and Oceanian Olympic and Paralympic Qualification Regetta in Chungju, South Korea on Sunday. (More Sports News)
The 25-year-old Indian Army rower, who narrowly missed out on a bronze in his maiden appearance at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China𓂃 last year, ജclocked 7:01.27 minutes to finish third in the 2000m race and seal the quota.
In the men's single scull, the top five make the Olympics cut.
In the men's lightweight double sculls, where India participated at the 🐻last Olympics in 🎃Tokyo, the country failed to qualify.
In an event where the top-two earn the quota, the Indian duo of Ujjwal Kumar and Arvind Singh finis🌸hed third.
India will thus have a solitaryꦯ entry in rowing at the quadrennial extravaganza slatܫed from July 26.
Arjun Lal and Arvind Singh represented the country in men's lightweig🧔ht double scull at Tokyo Olympics and returned with an 11th place finish.
The Asian Qualifiers were held simultaneously with the Asian Rowing Cup where India won a gold medal courtesy the duo of Salman Khan and Nitin Deol in men's double scull event.
A day💟 after their achievement, Panwar, who hails from Karnal in Hary🔥ana, put up a dominant show after a slow start.
In the first 5𒉰00m leg, Panwar was lying thi🌳rd behind eventual gold medallist Vladislav Yakovlev of Kazakhstan and Hong Kong's Hin Chun Chiu.
But Panwar u൩sed his power to race ahead and grab the lead, passing the halfway mark (1000m) with a timing of 3:25.51𓄧.
He held on to his lead till🧔 the penultima💞te stretch of 1500m, which he crossed with a timing of 5:12.67, three seconds ahead of his Hong Kong rival.
🀅But Yakovlev produced a superb recovery in the final lap and took ꧃the top spot with a timing of 6:59.46 seconds.
Indonesia's Memo Memo also fi🔯nished within 7 minutes to get past Panwar and take the second spot.
