Sports Minister congratulates rower Dattu

New Delhi, Aug 6 (IANS) Sports Minister Vijay Goel on Saturday congratulated rower Dattu Bhokanal, who qualified for the quarter-finals of the men's single sculls rowing in the 31st Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro.

"Congratulations to Dattu Bhokanal for qualifying for quarterfinals. #Kudos #rowing #OlympicReady #JeetoRio," Goel tweeted.

In the first heat of the day, Bhokanal finished the 2000 metres in seven minutes and 21.67 seconds at the Lagoa Stadium here.

The 25-year-old is the sole Indian in the event. He was in second place for the first 500 metres of the race but started to lag behind once the Mexican in lane 2 picked up the pace around the 700 metres mark.