Bajrang Punia's US training stint gets approval from Mission Olympic Cell
Asian Games gold medal-winning wrestler Bajrang Punia's decision to train in the USA for a month recently received the green signal from Mission Olympic Cell, in a meeting held on Thursday.
The newly-married grappler will be travelling to the USA to train at the Cliff Keen Wrestling Club in Michigan from December 4 to January 3. The approximate expenses for Bajrang Punia's training exposure trip will be Rs. 14 lakhs.
Set up by the Sports Authority of India (SAI), Mission Olympic Cell selects athletes who are eligible to receive assistance under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS).
Bajrang Punia is one of India's best bets for a medal at the Tokyo Olympics next year. The 26-year-old bagged an Olympic quota place at the Wrestling World Championships in men’s freestyle 65kg last year and was one of four Indians to book a Tokyo ticket.
The 26-year-old Bajrang Punia also clinched the silver medal at the Asian Wrestling Championships this year to make a good start to the season before everything came to a standstill because of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Bajrang Punia to take part in eight-man tournament
Since the training camp resumed at the SAI Centre in Sonipat, Bajrang Punia has been putting in the hard yards for nearly three months. The elite wrestler had been invited to take part in a $25,000 eight-man tournament in Texas, USA, but he opted for the Wrestling World Championships.
However, with the gala event getting cancelled, Bajrang Punia decided to join the tournament in Texas, as it would give him a good opportunity to gauge his level against some of the most promising American wrestlers.
With the likes of two-time World Championships medallist James Green being a part of that event, Bajrang Punia opted to go for it instead of the World Cup in Serbia that replaced the cancelled World Championships.
Bajrang Punia, who recently tied the knot with fellow wrestler Sangeeta Phogat, will leave for the USA early next month with coach Emzarios Bentinidis and physio Dhananjay in tow.