India’s only rower at the Paris 2024 Olympics, Balraj Panwar, kept his medal hopes alive by qualifying directly for the quarterfinals of the men’s single sculls event. On Sunday, he finished second in the second repechage with a time of 07:12.41 and advanced to the next round. Quentin Antognelli of Monaco came first with a time of 7:10.00.

Kanwar ran the first 1000m in 03:33.94 and was then in second place. He managed to keep his place in the top 2 remarkably. The 25-year-old will now compete in the quarterfinals, which will be held on Tuesday.

Earlier on Saturday, Panwar finished 4th in the first round and made it to the repechage. He clocked a time of 7:07.11, finishing behind New Zealanders Thomas Mackintosh (6:55.92), Stefanos Ntouskos (7:01.79) and Abdelkhalek Elbanna (7:05.06).

The top two participants from each repechage qualify for the quarter-finals on Tuesday.

Panwar remained consistent in second place, passing the 500m in 1:44:13, the 1000m in 3:33:94 and the 1500m in 5:23:22. He passed the 2000m in 7:12.41.

video carousel

In the first repechage, Ivan Isak Zvegelj of Slovenia and Javier Insfran of Paraguay finished first and second respectively with times of 7:06:90 and 7:08:29. In the third repechage, Ali Sid Boudina of Algeria finished first with a time of 7:10:23, while Chun Win Chiu finished second with a time of 7:12:94 to reach the quarterfinals.

Watch LIVE updates from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games Day 1 here. Stay updated with the latest news from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Watch the Paris 2024 Olympic Games events today. See the updated Paris 2024 Olympic Games medal list. See the Paris 2024 Olympic Games event results.