Paris 2024 Olympics rowing: India’s Balraj Panwar finishes 23rd in men’s single sculls

India’s Balraj Panwar finished 23rd in the men’s single sculls event at the Paris 2024 Olympics rowing competition after placing fifth in the Final D on Friday.

Balraj, the lone Indian rower at Paris 2024, clocked 7:02.37 - his best time at Paris 2024 - to cap off his Olympic debut at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium. Monegasque rower Quentin Antognelli won Final D with 6:54.93.

Though Balraj’s final position in the men’s singles sculls event, which saw 33 rowers compete, doesn’t look too impressive on paper, the Indian Army man from Haryana, showed steady progress throughout his campaign.

Last Saturday, Balraj clocked 7:07.11 to finish fourth among six rowers in heat 1 but made the quarter-finals through repechage on Sunday after coming in second in his repechage 2 heat with 7:12.41.

In his quarter-final race on Tuesday, Balraj clocked 7:05.10 to finish fifth and dropped out of medal contention. However, since all boats in Olympic rowing competitions are ranked, Balraj entered semi-final C/D to compete for the best possible finish between 13 to 24.

Despite clocking 7:04.97 for sixth place in the semi-final C/D race, Balraj dropped into the Final D for his final race of Paris 2024 to battle out for positions 19 to 24.

Balraj, who narrowly missed a bronze medal at the Asian Games last year, earned his spot in India’s Paris 2024 contingent by winning a bronze medal at the Asian and Oceanian Rowing Olympic Qualification Regatta in Chungju, the Republic of Korea in April.

India’s best finish at an Olympic sailing event to date is 11th place achieved by Arjun Lal Jat and Arvind Singh in the men’s lightweight double sculls event at Tokyo 2020.