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Dattu Bhokanal, India's Olympic rower, is no less of a hero

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Rasesh Mandani
Rasesh MandaniAug 22, 2016 | 12:46

Dattu Bhokanal, India's Olympic rower, is no less of a hero

A 23-year-old shaggy young man wearing an Indian jumper came out of Mumbai international airport's terminal 2 last week. He was carrying unusually heavy luggage but not many gave him a second glance.

Some would have thought the young fellow's fashion sense drew him to pick an Indian jumper over a Nike; others would have taken him to be an artist of sorts going by the load of his belongings.

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A few steps in the maze of the swanky new airport and media cameras followed our young man as he walked towards a big placard having his victorious picture imprinted on it.

A handful of us from the media got on with our jobs and our dishevelled hero was soon giving interviews.

Realisation struck the bystanders - and there are many of them at airports - that the man was an Indian Olympian.

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Dattu Bhokanal finished where no Indian rower ever had, 13th overall and leader of rowing sculls C race.

"What does this guy play," one asked me. "Rowing," I replied. "Hmm..." he would say. He further gathered courage to satisfy his inquest. "Can you tell me what that is?"

I was done taking my interview so took it upon myself to spread some Olympic awareness. "They boat against water and the best man wins," I explained. "Okay. So what's he won, which medal?" the gentleman asked.

I was losing my patience but went on: "Not a medal. He has finished 13th." To arrest his look of disdain, I continued: "He finished 4th in the quarter-finals, if he had finished 3rd he would have made the semis."

"His 13th place is the best ever by an Indian rower at Olympics," I added.

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Before I got into this conversation with the interloper, Dattu had told me in the interview: "Before taking up rowing, there is not one work I have not done in my village, from farming to labour work."

The huge cut-out that Dattu walked into was carried by his army teammates and coaches from the Pune army rowing range.

A custom officer used to seeing the media wait for cricketers at airports made sense of the camera presence by reading that cutout.

"Welcome Dattu Bhokanal. You have made us proud. The only Indian rower at Rio," it read.

Dattu soon had enough selfie-seekers to enrich our pictures. The media cameras and the cutout helped but come to think of it, Dattu had earned the right to win a hero's welcome.

Fourth year into taking up the sport, he finished where no Indian rower ever had, 13th overall and leader of rowing sculls C race.

"Three more years and I will win India a medal. But right now I have to attend to my ailing mother and take her to a good hospital," he told me in the interview. Dattu had given overcoming odds a whole new meaning.

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I soon realised my perfect stranger was also among those who got himself a selfie with Dattu. He looked old enough to be having kids and hopefully would have narrated to them Dattu's story.

Last updated: August 22, 2016 | 12:46
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