Indian rower Balraj Panwar has made headlines by advancing to the quarterfinals of the men’s single sculls event at the Paris Olympics. On Sunday, Panwar delivered an impressive performance, finishing second in the repechage round with a time of 7:12.41.
Hailing from Haryana, Panwar showed strong early speed, leading the race at the outset and maintaining a fierce competition with Monaco’s Quentin during the first half. The final stretch was a thrilling battle, with Panwar and Quentin trading the lead. Ultimately, Quentin edged out Panwar, finishing first with a time of 7:10.00. Indonesian rower La Memo secured third place with a time of 7:19.60.
Panwar had a challenging start in his initial heat, where he finished fourth out of six competitors with a time of 7:07.11. Only the top three from each heat advanced directly to the quarterfinals. In that heat, New Zealand’s Thomas Mackintosh led with a time of 6:55.92, followed by Greece’s Stefanos Ntouskos at 7:01.79, and Egypt’s Abdelkhalek El-Banna at 7:05.06.
Despite the tough start, Panwar’s strong performance in the repechage round has secured him a spot in the next stage of the competition, highlighting his resilience and competitive spirit on the Olympic stage.
