India At Paris Olympics: Rower Balraj Panwar's Medal Hopes Over

Panwar had progressed to the quarterfinals after finishing second in his repechage round race on Sunday

Updated on: 30 July 2024 4:09 pm

Balraj Panwar, of India, trains ahead of competing in the men's single sculls rowing quarterfinal at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Vaires-sur-Marne, France. Photo: AP/Lindsey Wasson

India's lone representative in rowing at the Paris Olympics, Balraj Panwar on Tuesday finished fifth in his quarterfinals heat race of the men's single sculls event and will now fight for minor positions. (Highlights | Olympics Full Coverage | More Sports Stories)

The 25-year-old clocked 7 minutes and 5.10 seconds in quarterfinals heat 4 to be relegated to semifinals C/D, meant for rowers to compete for positions 13th to 24th.

Individual Neutral Athlete Yauheni Zalaty won the quarterfinals heat 4 with a time of 6:49.27, while Giedrius Bieliauskas (6:51.80) of Lithuania and Ryuta Arakawa (6:54.17) of Japan were second and third respectively.

Panwar had progressed to the quarterfinals after finishing second in his repechage round race on Sunday. He had finished fourth in his first round heat race on Saturday to make it to the repechage round.

Those who finished in top three in each of the four quarterfinal heats qualify for the semifinals A/B and the remainder compete in semifinals C/D. The rowers in semifinals A/B will vie for Final A/B races. Medals are awarded to the top three finishers in Final A.