New Delhi, Jan 25: Army Rowing Node at the College of Military Engineering in Pune has won the World Rowing’s ‘Programme of the Year’ honour for its role in the development of the sport, beating competition from initiatives based in France and United Kingdom.
The Army Rowing Node (ARN), which came into existence in 2001, is India’s only man-made international-standard 2,200m x 135m rowing channel and trains 60-90 rowers. The World Rowing Award, which was instituted in 2024, was presented to ARN’s Commanding Officer Col. R Ramakrishnan at the Lausanne-based Olympic Museum on Saturday.
The ARN is a part of the Indian Army’s Mission Olympics Wing (MOW), which was started in 2001 under the Directorate General of Military Training to boost India’s medal prospects in Olympics and international events”.
It has produced seven Olympians. Recently, the Indian team at the 2023 Asian Games was entirely made of rowers affiliated to the armed forces and it fetched five medals, including two silver, at the regional showpiece.
“The ‘Rowing Programme of the Year’ award underscores World Rowing’s commitment to expanding the international Rowing community, involving clubs, schools and universities more deeply, and highlighting their crucial role in developing the sport,” World Rowing had stated about the award.
The other contenders were Rowing for Health (Aviron Sante) in Lyon, France and Refugee Integration Programme in Lancaster, United Kingdom.
“It is a proud moment for the ARN and the Rowing Federation of India and the country in general. It highlights our potential to build world-class infrastructure to become a hub for prestigious global events,” said Colonel N S Johal, the CEO of the Sports Ministry’s Target Olympics Scheme (TOPS) who was associated with the Army’s MOW for over two decades.
To be eligible for the ‘Rowing Programme of the Year’ Award, programmes should have a “demonstrated track record of success at the national and/or international level”.(PTI)
