With two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar failing to impress, all eyes were on wrestler Bajrang Punia to bring home the yellow metal at the 2018 Asian Games. And the 24-year-old Haryana grappler did not disappoint.
On his way to the final, the wrestler won all his bouts on technical superiority. In his opener, he took a 13-3 lead over Uzbekistan’s Khasanov Sirojiddin and then beat Tajakistan’s Abdulqosim Fayziev 12-2 in the quarters. Punia then marched into the finals after beating Mongolia's Batmagnai Batchuluun 10-0. In the finale, he raced to a 6-0 in the first 1 minute 20 seconds, eventually winning the bout 11-8.
With this, Bajrang Punia won India’s first gold at the 2018 Asian Games and his fourth gold of the year.
Past Accolades
Just 24, Bajrang is a World Championship bronze medallist from the 2013 edition. He also won silver medals at the 2014 Asian and Commonwealth Games. The Haryana grappler won gold medals in the Commonwealth Championship in 2016 and 2017 at Singapore and South Africa, respectively.
At this year’s Commonwealth Games, Punia beat Wales’ Kane Charig in the final of the 65kg event. He needed only two minutes to overpower his opponent by technical superiority. He followed this up with golds at Tbilisi Grand Prix (Georgia) and Yasar Dogu International (Istanbul).
Yogeshwar’s Prodigy
Bajrang has been training under the guidance of four-time Olympian Yogeshwar Dutt since his early days as a wrestler. In an interview, Punia revealed that it was the senior wrestler who asked him to step up to the 65kg category because 61kg wasn’t an Olympic category.
Change in Approach
Punia’s approaching to wrestling changed after a first-round loss in the 2017 World Championships in Paris. It was only when others approached him about his mistakes, did he realise that it was his job to improve himself.
Since then, he has been spending more time learning about new wrestling trends, while tracking the progress of his opponents across the world.
I was not enjoying wrestling. I used to go and wrestle and come back. Win or loss didn’t matter. I never checked my mistakes. In a way, I was betraying my sport. I learnt in the last 10 months that wrestling is more than just going out there and fighting with another guy on the mat.Bajrang Punia to Indian Express
Direct Entry into Asian Games
Bajrang, along with Sushil Kumar, were selected without a trial since the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) felt that the duo were too superior to other wrestlers in their respective categories.
Trained With Sushil
Ahead of the Asian Games, the Haryana grappler trained in Georgia along with Sushil Kumar. "The committee also sanctioned the extension by one week of Bajrang Punia's training under TOPS in Georgia so that he can participate in the Tbilisi Grand Prix," the Sports Authourity of India (SAI) said in a statement.
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