Lucknow: Indian Army Subedar and Olympian rower Arvind Singh, a native of Khabra village in Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh, has been conferred with the prestigious Arjuna Award under the National Sports Awards 2025. President Droupadi Murmu presented the award to Singh along with 16 other sportspersons at a ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday.
Singh has represented India in several major international competitions, including the Tokyo Olympics 2020 and the Asian Games. At the Tokyo Olympics, he competed in the lightweight double sculls event.
His achievements continued at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, where he partnered Arjun Lal Jat to win a silver medal in lightweight double sculls.
Singh has also won several international and national medals. He clinched gold in the lightweight single sculls event at the 2021 Asian Rowing Championships in Thailand and another gold in lightweight double sculls at the 2022 edition of the championship. At the 2023 National Games in Goa, he again partnered Arjun Lal Jat to secure gold in lightweight double sculls.
The Arjuna Award ceremony was attended by Rowing Federation of India president and Asian Rowing Federation vice-president Balaji Maradappa. RFI secretary general Shubhashish Mukherjee and Finance Committee chairman Nawabuddin also congratulated Singh on the achievement.
Uttar Pradesh Rowing Association secretary and Rowing Federation of India vice-president Sudhir Sharma described the honour as a proud moment for the state and Indian rowing. He said Singh’s journey had been marked by determination and hard work.
Coming from a farming family, Singh joined the Indian Army in 2016. He had no prior exposure to rowing before entering military service. Recognising his height and physical capabilities, Army coaches encouraged him to take up the sport. He subsequently underwent training at the Army Rowing Node in Pune and gradually established himself on the international rowing circuit.
Following the announcement, several sports administrators from Uttar Pradesh congratulated Singh. These included Uttar Pradesh Olympic Association secretary general Dr Anandeshwar Pandey, Uttar Pradesh Rowing Association patron Pawan Singh Chauhan (MLC), president Rani Pakshalika Singh (MLA), chairperson Renuka Mishra (IPS) and selection committee chairman Aditya Mishra (retired IPS).
Members of the association’s advisory body, including Dr RP Singh, Rajiv Trivedi, Vinod Kumar Singh, Dr RK Swarnakar and Deepak Kumar, also extended their congratulations and wished him success in his future sporting career.
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