Bajrang Punia on the lookout for Indian coach, Shako Bentinidis might get the axe
Bajrang Punia, Olympic bronze medalist in men’s 65kg freestyle, will rely on Indian wrestling experts to polish his skills for future international competitions, including the 2022 season.
The 27-year-old's search for an Indian coach would mean his current personal coach Shako Bentinidis might get the axe. The Georgian has been Bajrang’s personal coach for more than three seasons.
Speaking to Sportskeeda, Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh confirmed the development:
“The Olympic bronze medalist came to the federation office the other day and expressed his desire to have an Indian wrestling expert as his personal coach. The search for an Indian coach is in the pipeline.”
Post the 2019 World Wrestling Championships, Bajrang decided to part ways with Shako as even WFI wasn’t satisfied with his progress after a semifinal loss to Kazakhstan's Daulet Niyazbekov. Later, he decided not to switch to a new coach as it could have hampered his Tokyo Olympic preparations.
The WFI president said that, apart from having an Indian wrestling expert as a personal coach, Bajrang could go for a foreign coach as well.
“We have told Bajrang that he could go for a foreign coach as well, if he wants. We have no issues. He should take time to zero in on good coaches to prepare for future international events,” added Brij Bhushan.
Bajrang’s weak leg defense has been an area of concern. The WFI also questioned Shako's role as Bajrang only managed to win bronze instead of moving up to the gold medal bout as expected.
The WFI wasn’t satisfied with the overall performance of the seven-member Indian squad at the Olympics as the team that was expected to win three medals came back with only two.
“We were expecting three sure shot medals. There was the possibility of a winning a fourth medal too. But the Indian wrestling team could only win two medals. Something went wrong somewhere,” said the WFI president.
After the post-Olympic celebrations, the WFI plans to examine what went wrong.
“We would have a thorough discussion with the elite wrestlers. We would jot down their view points. We will also have a meeting with the coaches associated with the national camp to take their views. We would then draw a conclusion and move forward,” added Brij Bhushan.