"I will accept the challenge after the Asian Games" - Bajrang Punia promises to fight Vishal Kaliraman after Hangzhou 2023
The issue between Bajrang Punia and Vishal Kaliraman is far from resolved, with the former promising to duel with the latter after the 2023 Asian Games.
The issue between Bajrang and Vishal started when the latter won the trials in the men’s freestyle 65 kg weight category for the Asian Games. However, just a day before the finals for the trials held July 24, the Indian Olympic Association’s ad-hoc committee announced that Bajrang and Vinesh Phogat were getting a direct entry to the Indian wrestling team bound for Hangzhou.
This meant Vishal was placed as a standby for Bajrang for the event.
Vishal, understandably, wasn't happy with the news and stated that he, and other younger wrestlers, were not being treated fairly.
"I just wanted to win the trial today. Even if Bajrang was here today, I would have won, I was determined to win. We have been training for 15 years now. They just can't give him entry like that," he had then said. (via ESPN)
Khap panchayats (an assembly of Khap elders) also got involved in the matter and backed Vishal over Bajrang. However, they distanced themselves from the issue in a meeting in the Jind district of Haryana on Saturday, September 16.
Unhappy with it, Vishal's supporters, including his brother Krishan Kaliraman, got involved in a scuffle and allegedly shouted slogans that were not in good taste.
Bajrang took to social media to respond to the video, requesting Vishal's parents to teach their son some manners, and vowed to get into a ring with Vishal after the Asian Games.
"Vishal, his family and his brother in a video are speaking ill of [my] family. I request Vishal's mother and father to teach their sons how to speak," he said in a video posted on X (formerly twitter).
"Speaking about challenge [to face Vishal], I will accept the challenge after the Asian Games," he added.