Not many know the real story of the famous Indian rower, Dattu Baban Bhokanal. The Indian rower chased his dreams amidst many hardships. Despite suffering several setbacks in his life, the athlete overcame every difficult circumstance and established himself as one of the renowned athletes in the country.
EARLY LIFE
Dattu Baban Bhokanal is from a rural part of India. The athlete has overcome many difficulties in his life to reach to the biggest stages in the sport. After his father’s demise, at the age of 18, Dattu enrolled in the army. Dutta’s strong body helped him secure a place in the army and from there, his journey of being an athlete started. He was initiated to rowing by his coaches.
PERSONAL LIFE
Dattu was born on 5th April 1991 in a small village in Chandvad Taluka, Maharashtra. His family was economically weak. The villagers of Chandvad are facing the problem of water scarcity from his childhood and things are still the same there. The little Dattu has stood in queues to collect two buckets of water from the water tanker service. They often faced drought due to which their crops fail and his father dug wells for their survival. But dealing with poverty was much easy for Dattu but what broken the athlete was his father’s sudden death due to bone cancer. Following his father’s death, Dattu faced more poverty. Dattu worked in a petrol pump and also as a labourer. His brothers were dropped out of schools & did odd jobs. After all this, he joined as a Havaldar in the Indian army for a steady income.
His destiny got its initial framing in the army as Dattu was introduced to rowing there by Subedar Kudrat Ali. Dattu was the only earner in his family and he took care of his mother & two brothers. His father’s cancer treatment left them with nothing.
After so much hard work, Dutta made himself to South Korea for the qualifying event for the Olympics. But little did the athlete know that his struggle is not yet finished. Dattu’s mother Asha Bhokanal, met with an accident and got a serious injury in her head which also lead to her coma stage. But the braveheart didn’t stop & participated in the event. He got successfully qualified for the Rio Games after showcasing an exceptional performance.
The rower came to know that his mother is not able to recognize anybody. One after another, Dattu’s life gave him many problems at every turn. Perhaps, Dutta’s mental strength has helped him to focus on his goal and keep moving no matter what!
PROFESSIONAL LIFE
In 2012, Dutta started rowing in the Bombay Engineer Group & Centre in Pune. In 2013, the rower moved to Army Rowing Node (ARN), Pune to gain effective training. Dutta’s first coach was Kusrfat Ali and later was trained was Dronacharya & Chief National rowing coach, Ismail Baig, at ARN in Pune.
Dattu Baban Bhokanal is supported by the Target Olympic Podium (TOP) Scheme which specifically funds Olympic medal prospects for their preparation and training. A national camp was held at ARN IN Pune for the 2016 Rio Olympics where Dr. Roshan Adkitte was Dutta’s sports physiotherapist. Before his participation in the Rio Olympics, his physiotherapist treated Dattu’s sports injuries. Therefore, Mission Olympic Wing of Indian Army appointed a sports nutritionist to guide diets and provide necessary supplements for Dattu.
Dattu failed to earn a medal at the Rio Games but he showcased a commendable performance by finishing at 13th position in the men’s sculls event. After the London Olympics 2012, Dutta’s performance became the best by an Indian rower at the Olympics.
ACHIEVEMENTS
ASIAN ROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Silver, 2015, Beijing: Men’s Single Sculls
ASIAN GAMES
- Gold: 2018, Jakarta: Men’s Quadruple Sculls
PERSONAL INFORMATION
- Name: Dattu Baban Bhonkanal
- Nickname: Dattu Baban Bhonkanal
- Sport: Rowing
- Events- Men’s Single Sculls
- Country- India
- Father’s name: NOT UPDATED
- Mother’s name: Asha Bhokanal
- Coach- Kusrfat Ali & Ismail Baig
- Height- 1.89 m
- Weight: 81 kg
- Eye colour: black
- Hair colour: black
- Date of birth: 05 April 1991
- Age: 28 years
- Birth place: Talegaon Rohi Tal: Chandwad, Nashik district, Maharashtra, India
- Zodiac sign: Aries
- Nationality: Indian
- Hometown: Maharashtra
- Religion: Hindu
CONTROVERSY
Apart from his career highlights & performances, Indian rower Dattu Baban Bhokanal has also made headlines when his wife accused him of harassing her both mentally & physically. Dutta’s wife who is a police constable booked a complaint against the rower and a case was registered under sections 498 A. To defend himself, Dattu also gave statements.
NET WORTH OF DATTU BABAN BHOKANAL
NOT YET UPDATED.
SOCIAL MEDIA HANDLES OF DATTU BABAN BHOKANAL
FACEBOOK- NOT ACTIVE
INSTAGRAM- NOT ACTIVE
TWITTER- NOT ACTIVE
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