PUNE: Balraj Panwar displayed his growing prowess in the single scull by outclassing the field and taking the gold in the National rowing championships at the College of Military Engineering course on Thursday.
Army man Panwar, who had finished a creditable fourth at the Asian Games in Hangzhou last year in what was his maiden appearance in the event, clocked 7 minutes 18.7 seconds to finish ahead of Services' Salman Khan (7:22.5) and federation representative Navdeep Singh (7:25.9). Local favourite Olympian Dattu Bhokanal finished a distant fourth in 7:32.3 in the 2,000m race.
"The feeling is very good. This is my third gold in a national meet," said Panwar, who had won the event at the National Games in Goa and was part of the gold-winning quadruple team at the National championships last year.
"Single scull is thrilling, a lot of fun. It is your boat and you alone. Everything's up to you. "Be it failure or success, it is down to your own performance. I started in the single scull at the Asian Games. I have improved my technique a lot since then. "I gained a lot of experience in Hangzhou. I also raced well, so my confidence has gone up since then."
The performance at National championships is significant as it comes ahead of selection trials for the Olympic Qualifiers for the Asia-Oceania region in April in South Korea.
The continental event offers Olympic berths only for single scull and lightweight double scull, both men and women, while spots in other events have to be earned through world events. Services' Nitin Deol and Ujjwal Kumar Singh won the men's lightweight double scull while Manipur's Th Priya Devi and H Tendenthoi Devi dominated the women's event.
