Arjun Lal Jat could effortlessly become the most important person in the room. Any room, in fact.
With a towering 6’2” frame, a torso sculpted like a statue, and biceps that strain against a modest polyester shirt, he is impossible to miss in a crowd. Add a sharp crew cut, a tattoo of the hallowed Olympic rings, the funkiest pair of neon-green aviators, and a disarming smile, and it’s no surprise he was the centre of attraction at the inaugural Khelo India Water Sports Festival (KIWSF) in Srinagar.
“ Aapko toh filmon mein hona chahiye thha (You should have been an actor),” someone remarks. Arjun smiled knowingly, as if he had heard this before.
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In the rowing circuit, though, Arjun is more than a showstopper — he is a proven champion. He has represented India at the Olympics, Asian Games, World Championships, World Cups, Asian Championships, and the National Games. And he has medals to show for it: silver at Hangzhou 2022, gold at the 2021 and 2022 Asian Championships, gold at the 2022 and 2023 National Games, and multiple national titles. His 11th-place finish alongside Arvind Singh in men’s lightweight double sculls at Tokyo 2020 remains India’s best-ever Olympic performance in rowing.
But what made him a bigger deal on Friday was that there were many who were catching a glimpse of him for the first time since the 2023 Asian Games. A back injury forced him to let go of the oar for almost two years.
“I had suffered a back injury before the Olympic (Paris 2024) qualifiers. We were training for the Olympics while in a camp in China, where I encountered the issue. And I missed the Olympic qualification event in South Korea. Only now am I gradually returning to practice. I have come here for single sculls, and in the upcoming Nationals in December, I will either compete in single or double sculls,” said the 28-year-old, who will be in action in single sculls on the final day of KIWSF 2025.
“In the build-up to LA28, I am taking part in this competition [KIWSF] to test my endurance—how much load my body can take. The Nationals are when I will actually come to know about my progress. If I get a medal at the Nationals, I will straight away get a place in the national camp.”Arjun Lal Jat
The recovery was hardly the kind you’d expect for an elite athlete. A Subedar at the Rajputana Rifles Regimental Centre in Delhi, Arjun relied on improvised rehab. “I did not take the help of any expert physio or doctor. But I used to consult a Border Security Force physio, and followed the exercises he suggested. The pain eased once I stuck to those routines,” he explained.
The injury came with its share of troubles. Arjun was downgraded to the Target Olympics Podium Scheme’s (TOPS) development group from the core group. So, it is important for Arjun to hit the ground (read: water) running as he wishes to fast-track his return to the ‘scheme’ of things before the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games next year and the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. He said: “I have always trained in India, but yes, if given the opportunity, I would like to train abroad. The Government has supported me a lot by keeping me in the TOPS development group after the injury. Since I am returning from injury, I hope to do well here. Though I don’t have much practice, I will try to do my best.
“In the build-up to LA28, I am taking part in this competition to test my endurance—how much load my body can take. The Nationals are when I will actually come to know about my progress. If I get a medal at the Nationals, I will straight away get a place in the national camp. The competition and competitors have grown since I went out. Now the country has progressed really fast in water sports and in my category.”
Arjun’s 11th-place finish alongside Arvind Singh in men’s lightweight double sculls at the Tokyo Olympics is the best-ever performance by an Indian rower(s) at the Summer Games.
| Photo Credit:
PTI
Arjun’s 11th-place finish alongside Arvind Singh in men’s lightweight double sculls at the Tokyo Olympics is the best-ever performance by an Indian rower(s) at the Summer Games.
| Photo Credit:
PTI
It’s curious, then, that one of India’s finest rowers comes from Nayabas, a dry village in Rajasthan. “There is no water body in Rajasthan, but at the Asian Games and other international competitions, a majority of the Olympian rowers are from there. I think it is because we are hard-working and partly because of the climate. Because of the extreme heat in Rajasthan, and the people having to work hard, it makes them sturdy. At the Asian Games, eight of us rowers were from Rajasthan,” Arjun said
Earlier, he trained at the Army Nodal Centre in Pune, but a move to Delhi in November 2024 altered his routine. “In Delhi, the climate is harsh on the body, but one has to train. I train on the Sonia Vihar side of the Wazirabad Bridge on the Yamuna. I stay in the Army’s Supply Platoon near Viswavidyalaya. The proximity makes training at Wazirabad convenient.”
Maybe things will be easier when Arjun finally reunites with Arvind. “We can renew our doubles partnership in the future, provided I get into the camp. He is still in Pune. He too has a back problem but it is nowhere close to what I had suffered. In rowing, back injury is actually quite common.”
As Arjun heads out of the tent, he is promptly requested for a selfie. It is a volunteer. He obliges with a smile. “They treat me as some kind of a superstar here, especially the youngsters. Everyone recognises me here.”
The letters of ‘Tokyo 2020’ on his right arm are beginning to fade. Would he redo the tattoo? Arjun grinned. He would, he said, only when he could add another line beneath it: LA28.
Published on Aug 22, 2025
