Bronze on debut at Tokyo 2020

Among India’s top modern day sporting superstars, Bajrang Punia has been quite unique.

Bajrang Punia is the only Indian wrestler to win more than one medal at the world championships and has also stood on the podium at the Asian Games, Asian championships, Commonwealth Games, as well as the Olympics.

Hailing from the north Indian state of Haryana, which is India’s cradle for churning out world-class athletes, Bajrang Punia has been on the rise since stepping into the desi akhadas – traditional Indian mud wrestling pits – when he was only nine. 

Bajrang Punia’s beginning in Jhajjar

Bajrang Punia’s wrestling journey began when his father, Balwan Punia, a wrestler himself, enrolled the young boy to the akhadas in Khudan village of Jhajjar district of Haryana. 

That is where Bajrang found the purpose of his life. 

“He (Bajrang Punia) used to be a very simple and smart kid,” Balwan Punia told the Olympics.com. “He wouldn’t prank around a lot and simply did his task… He had told me from the beginning only that he wanted to do wrestling.” 

And wrestling is what Bajrang did. After putting the hard yards in his village, Bajrang Punia moved to New Delhi’s Chhatrasal Stadium, the hub of top wrestling talents in the country, in 2008. This is where he met his mentor, idol and sparring partner Yogeshwar Dutt. 

“I observed how he (Yogeshwar) would wrestle on the mat and followed in his footsteps. He became a role model for me since then,” said Bajrang Punia. 

Soon, the medals started flowing in. Bajrang Punia broke into the international scene in 2013 with bronze-winning performances at the Asian championships and the world championships in the men’s 60kg freestyle category.

More success followed in 2014 as the Haryana wrestler went on to claim silver at the Commonwealth Games, the Asian championships and at the Asian Games. 

Bajrang Punia’s ascent to the top continued in the years to follow. The grappler won dozens of medals at all the main events, including golds at the 2018 Asian Games, 2018 Commonwealth Games and a silver at the 2018 world championships. 

The only piece of metal missing from the glittering cabinet was from the Olympics.

Bajrang Punia in Olympics: Debut at Tokyo 2020

Bajrang Punia made a remarkable Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020, winning the bronze medal in the 65kg freestyle event despite battling a knee injury. 

In the run-up to the Summer Games, Bajrang injured his right knee during the Ali Aliyev tournament in Russia in June 2021, just a month before Tokyo 2020.  

The Indian wrestler had to not only forfeit the match but the injury also cast a doubt over his Tokyo Olympics prospects. 

“There is pain in the right knee, the doctor had advised me to rest, but I couldn’t afford to take rest as every athlete wants to play in the Olympics for the country,” Bajrang Punia had said. “I told them training is important for me. I asked doctors to tell me about the rehab and I will do so…