India's Olympic Journey: Rowing & Shooting Stars Face Early Hurdles in Paris

India's Olympic campaign in Paris 2024 faced early challenges in rowing and shooting. Balraj Panwar finished fourth in rowing but still has hope in the repechage round. In shooting, Indian teams fell short in the 10m air rifle mixed team event, but more events await the shooters.

India's Paris Olympics campaign in rowing hit a challenging start as Balraj Panwar finished fourth in his first heat race on Saturday. Panwar clocked 7:07:11 minutes, securing fourth out of six competitors. Only the top three from each heat progressed directly to the quarterfinals.

Despite the early setback, Panwar remains hopeful as he can still compete in the repechage round on Sunday. In the first heat, New Zealand's Thomas Mackintosh finished first with 6:55.92 minutes, followed by Greece's Stefanos Ntouskos with 7:01.79 minutes, and Egypt's Abdelkhalek El-Banna with 7:05.06 minutes.

India's campaign in shooting at Paris 2024 also faced disappointment as two Indian teams participating in the 10m air rifle mixed team qualifiers failed to reach the medal matches on Saturday. The pairs of Elavenil Valarivan and Sandeep Singh, and Arjun Babuta and Ramita Jindal, were unable to make it to the top four that qualified for the knockout stages. Ramita and Arjun finished sixth with 628.7 points, while Elavenil and Sandeep finished twelfth with 626.3 points.

Germany, finishing fourth with 629.7 points, will compete for the bronze against Kazakhstan. The gold medal match will feature defending champions China against South Korea. However, Indian shooters still have a fighting chance in the upcoming 10m air pistol qualification rounds for men and women featuring stars like Sarabjot Singh, Arjun Cheema, Manu Bhaker, and Rhythm Sangwan later today.

(With inputs from agencies.)