5 of India's greatest ever rowers

Sawarn Singh Virk

Another graduate of the Army Rowing Node, Pune, Sawarn Singh Virk, a native of Mansa in East Punjab, is one of the few Arjuna Award winners in rowing. Though the 26-year-old failed to qualify for the Rio Olympics, Virk left an indelible impression in the hearts of Indian sports enthusiasts by winning a bronze medal at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games.

Virk also represented the nation at the 2012 London Olympics at the young age of 22, where his discipline was the Men’s Single Sculls event. He even went one better than Bhokanal by winning Gold at the FISA Asian and Oceania Olympic Qualifying Regatta, and the similarities with Bhokanal do not end there.

Virk was also unaware of the sport until he joined the Army at the age of 18. The fact that he became an Olympic rower in less than four years from that point stands testament to his incredible grit and determination.