Having lost his father at a young age, Balraj Panwar sought a post in the Indian Army to be able to fend for his family. Little did he know that within four years of joining the Army, he would become the only rower to represent India at the Paris Olympics. And on Sunday, thanks to repechage, he will get a second outing on the Seine.
Balraj finished fourth in Heat 1 of the men's singles scull competition on Saturday.
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It's all a long way from his village of Kaimla in Haryana's Karnal district, where a constrained family situation meant he had to find a job straight after school. He applied for a post in the Army; there was no sporting angle here, he just wanted to find a means to support his family. It was during his time here, in 2020, that a coach asked him to try out rowing because of his six-foot frame. "I gave it a shot, began improving and here I am. I never thought I would ever be a professional athlete."
Balraj's rise since then has been rapid. He moved to the Army Rowing Node at the end of the year for better training facilities and, though he competed in domestic events over the next two years, he had little success. "I did not win a single medal until 2023. I was good, but I had no medals to show because sometimes my partners were a bit weak. I remember thinking what's the point of being in the sport if I am not winning anything," he recalls.
One medal changed his life: He won gold at the 2023 national championships and was included in the camp for the Asian Games. He was initially a possible reserve for a quadruple team but ended up becoming the only Indian sculler at the Games. He finished fourth to miss out on a medal in China, but it gave him the self-belief he so needed.
He then secured the Paris Olympics quota by winning bronze at the Asian and Oceanian Rowing Olympic Qualification Regatta in South Korea in May this year.
Balraj credits his rise through the ranks to a combination of hard work and good fortune. "Honestly, I consider myself very fortunate. It's a combination of hard work and fortune that has got me this far. Hard work attracts fortune, that's what I believe."
Balraj, though, is realistic. He has a single target for the Paris Olympics: to clock a personal best. He feels that will be enough for him to make it to the semifinals, a stage that no Indian rower has reached so far.
In a bid to make this mission possible, Balraj and his coach Bajrang Lal Thakkar, who had represented India in the same event at the 2008 Olympics, went to France 20 days before the start of the Games to acclimatize to the conditions and were among the first to check into the Olympic Village. His daily routine over the last few days has been a 7:30am bus ride to the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium, which will host the rowing events, do a total of 24 kilometres of rowing before coming back to the Games Village by around 4pm.
After that, it's been all about life in the Games Village. "I sometimes go shopping in the official merchandise store, grab some ice cream or just hang around with the athletes. Woh Spain ka jo hai khiladi...Rafael Nadal..unko mile the but photo nahi le paya because unke paas itni bheed thi [I met Rafael Nadal but wasn't able to take a photo with him because there was a crowd around him.] I haven't seen him since, I wish I got a picture too!"
Interestingly, his nickname on the Olympics website says "MS Dhoni of Indian rowing", much to his embarrassment. "He is such a big athlete; how can I be compared with him? My name can be taken alongside his only when I achieve something big. Maybe if I win a medal then it would be fine [laughs]."