Balraj Panwar hopes to hit high notes at Paris Olympics

PUNE: Balraj Panwar has set himself a modest target at the Paris Olympics - a semifinal finish in men's single sculls.
In any other circumstance, it might make him seem a less ambitious athlete, but not in the context of Indian rowing history. "No Indian has made it to the semifinal in rowing," Balraj explained.
Paulose Pandari Kunnel came 27th among 29 rowers at 2004 Athens and Bajrang Lal Takhar improved on it by finishing 21st in Beijing.Sawarn Singh Virk was 16th in London before Dattu Bhokanal beat the buzzer in 13th in Rio. India didn't have an entry in single scull sin Tokyo.
The very fact that Balraj, a 25-year-old hailing from Kaimla in Karnal district of Haryana, has made it to the Olympics is a remarkable feat in itself. He came to know about the existence of rowing only after joining the army and was inducted into the rowing programme only two years ago. Balraj has made rapid strides since and narrowly missed out on bronze at Hangzhou Asian Games. He is the only Indian to qualify for the Olympics this time.
The sculler had a reality check during World Rowing Cup 3 in Poland, where he finished 17th. "We are in the preparation phase, I have not reached peak performance," explained Balraj.
Takhar, who will be coaching Balraj at the Games, said not too much should be read into the timings as in rowing "position (ranking) matters, not timing".