With four athletes from dist in 117-member team, Karnal hopes for gold in Paris Olympics
There are four players from Karnal in three different sports in Paris Olympics, Balraj Panwar (rowing), Nishant Dev (boxing), Anish Bhanwala and Raiza Dhillon (both shooting) are realising their dream of representing the country for the first time at the world’s biggest sporting stage.
Of the 25 athletes from Haryana in the India’s 117-member strong contingent vying for honours in the Paris Olympics, four are from Karnal. The district is pinning high hopes on them for gold in the international multi-sport event.
There are four players from Karnal in three different sports, Balraj Panwar (rowing), Nishant Dev (boxing), Anish Bhanwala and Raiza Dhillon (both shooting) are realising their dream of representing the country for the first time at the world’s biggest sporting stage.
Balraj, a native of Kaimla village in Gharounda subdivision, will be the first to play on Saturday in his men’s single sculls category.
The 25-year-old is the only Indian to have made cut for the Olympics in rowing, a sport completely alien to this region. He has been with the army since 2018, where he learnt the sport and brought laurels for the country as well as the forces.
During an interaction with Hindustan Times before leaving for Paris, Balraj was hopeful for a medal that would inspire youngsters back home to pick up skill-based sports like rowing, which are still unpopular in the state.
Another athlete, Nishant will be playing his first match on August 1 in the men’s 71kg category preliminaries round of 16 against Ecuador.
A resident of Kot Mohalla, the 23-year-old boxer started his hours long practice at local Karan Stadium at the age of 10 with the support of his family.
Raiza, a native of Shamgarh village will play her qualification match in Skeet’s Women category of shooting on August 3 along with Maheshwari Chauhan.
The next day, Anish will also play his qualification match in 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Men’s category. During the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia, Anish was the youngest to win gold at the tender age of 15.
His father Jagpal Singh is confident that that his son, who has been playing in the senior category despite his young age since 2017, will deliver his best again.
“There are a total of six shooters from the state at the Olympics and all play exceptionally well. There are four players from Karnal, including Anish, and I wish they bring medal home to make us all proud,” he added.
