“Almost all our lakes are polluted and we've got used to training at the Hussain Sagar,” said Bajrang Lal Tahkar, two-time Asian rowing championship gold medallist. Reconciled to his fate, amidst the stench that pervades the historic lake sandwiched between the Twin Cities of Secunderabad and Hyderabad, a calm demeanour sees him tide over scenarios as depressing as this. “In contrast, China has 11 artificial courses,” he says, wistfully.
Felicitated recently by the Sports Journalists Federation of India (SJFI) during its annual convention at the Pune Youth Club (PYC) Gymkhana, Tahkar traced his rise in the sport during a chat with The Hindu Metroplus .
His six-foot plus frame made him an automatic choice for basketball when he joined the Artillery Centre, Golconda, Hyderabad in 2000. K.P.S Deo, former Minister of State for Defence, suggested Takhar try his hand at rowing. Following a battery of tests, he was found suitable for the sport and sent to the Army Rowing Node (ARN) at Dapodhy, near Pune, sited at the College of Military Engineering.
A few years of training and he was soon in the fray for the fours in 2003 and a year later in doubles, claiming gold in the latter at the Chandigarh Nationals. That his true calling lay in the singles became evident when he derived more satisfaction from a bronze, alone in the boat, than when striking gold with teammates in preparation for the 2005 championships.
Solitary sorties found him grow from strength to strength, first with gold at the South Asian Federation (SAF) Games at Colombo in 2006 and missing the precious metal by a millisecond, a verdict decided in a photo finish, at the Doha Asian Games the same year. Gold in the 2007 Asian championships was a major milestone but a quarter-final finish at the Beijing Olympics saw him come quite close to the world's elite.
“Breaching the Chinese wall was the biggest challenge at the Asian level,” he said after he had left behind rowers from the sporting super power. In a field where explosive power is paramount, a chance meeting with his role model Steve Redgrave at the Beijing Olympics was indeed memorable. “Coach Ismail Baig did most of the talking, since I couldn't understand the English legend,” reminisced Tahkar. “Nonetheless, the tips on discipline from Redgrave, then in his 50s, proved invaluable,” added the native of Sikhar, Rajasthan.
In August, he will compete at the World championships likely to be held the Netherlands. “Since it's a qualifying event for the Olympics, the who's who of rowing will be there, making it a really tough challenge,” notes Bajrang Lal. “In Europe, even children have boats. I think sports in our country will get a huge boost if sports schools are set up especially for children, as in China,” he concludes.
