Hangzhou, Oct 3 (PTI) Salam Sunil Singh, son of a fisherman, and Arjun Singh, born to a factory worker, grew up 2000km apart from each other. But there is a binding thread – an unending passion for water sports unhindered by their difficult formative years.

The 24-year-old Sunil from Moirang, Manipur, and the 16-year-old Arjun, who grew up in Roorkee, combined that passion to land India a bronze medal in men’s double canoe 1000m event at the Asian Games on Tuesday, a first for the country since the 1994 event.

The duo clocked 3:53.329 seconds to finish third here. In the 1994 Hiroshima edition, India had bagged a bronze in the same event through Siji Sadanandan and Johnny Rommel.

For Sunil and Arjun, the medal was the culmination of the hard work they had put in despite the crushing odds in their lives.

“My father (Iboyaima Singh) is a fisherman and every morning and evening he would row his boat out and catch fishes at the Loktak Lake and that is our family’s source of income. My mother (Binita Devi) is just a homemaker,” Sunil told

Source: PTI News