Olympics ki Aasha: Can Bajrang Punia bring home an Olympic medal from the Tokyo Olympics 2020?
Bajrang Punia is one of the best wrestlers India has ever produced. After the success of Sushil Kumar and Yogeshwar Dutt, the weight of carrying India's wrestling hopes on the world stage has fallen to the 27-year-old.
He is already a big name in men's wrestling. Bajrang is being tipped to bring home an Olympic medal at the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
The last time India won Olympic medals in men's wrestling was in 2012 when Sushil Kumar and Yogeshwar Dutt bagged silver and bronze respectively at the 2012 London Olympics. Bajrang Punia aims to end that 9-year Olympic-medal drought.
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Bajrang Punia has been training in Russia for over a month now. He participated in the Ali Aliev Memorial tournament held in Kaspiysk, Russia, where he suffered a leg injury in the semi-final bout. However, his coach Shako Bentinidis said there's nothing to worry about and he will be returning to action soon.
Wrestling is one of the best medal prospects for India at the quadrennial event in Japan, which is slated to take place later this month.
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Bajrang Punia's journey from akhada to national championships
Bajrang Punia comes from a humble family residing in the Kundan village of Jhajjar district of Haryana. His father, Balvan Singh Punia, was a wrestler as well. Bajrang decided to take up wrestling to fulfill his father's dream of representing India.
Young Bajrang Punia used to escort his elder brother to mud wrestling in his village, where he got his first hands-on experience of the sport. At the age of 7, he decided to pursue wrestling seriously. He would often skip school to go for wrestling practice.
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In 2003, after his initial wrestling experience in the mud, Bajrang Punia moved to the Sports Authority of India (SAI) training center in Sonepat, Haryana, where he stepped on the mat for the first time. At SAI, he trained under coach Arya Virender Singh.
In 2005, 11-year-old Bajrang Punia won his first junior national medal in wrestling. Years later, he moved to Chhatrsal Stadium in New Delhi, where he got an opportunity to train with professional wrestlers.
Everything was going well until 2015. Bajrang's career hit a roadblock after he suffered a back injury nine months before the national championships. It was a heartbreaking moment for the young wrestler as he failed to participate in any professional tournament for an entire year.
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Bajrang Punia's rise to the top
Bajrang Punia's biggest achievement came in 2018 when he won the silver medal at the World Wrestling Championships. He went on to clinch his first Commonwealth Games gold medal the same year and followed it with another gold medal at the Jakarta Asian Games. His series of accomplishments led to him earning the World No.1 ranking for wrestlers in the 65 kg category.
At the 2019 World Wrestling Championships, after winning the bronze medal in the 65kg category, Bajrang Punia booked his Olympic berth at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. He also won two gold medals each at the Asian Championships (2017 and 2019) and Commonwealth Championships (2016 and 2017).
Bajrang Punia's father Balvan Singh Punia says:
"Wherever he goes, he never returned home with empty hands. Now, he should bring home an Olympic medal. That's my only wish."
Bajrang Punia is happy with all the facilities being provided to him and presently his only aim is to win an Olympic gold medal in wrestling at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. The Government of India bestowed him with Arjuna Award, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, and Padma Shri for his tremendous contribution to the sport of wrestling.
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Credits: Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports
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