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=Career=
==Till 2019, Sept==
[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2019%2F09%2F22&entity=Ar02506&sk=362AA98A&mode=text Sabi Hussain, Sep 22, 2019: ''The Times of India'']

Deepak Punia, 20, entered the final of the World wrestling championship in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan on Saturday, and is now in line to make it a rare hat-trick of gold medals – he won a gold medal in the Cadet World Championships and then took gold in the Junior World championships.

Standing in Deepak’s way on Sunday will be the legendary Iranian wrestler Hassan Yazdani. If the young Indian manages to beat the Iranian, he will become only the second Indian wrestler after double Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar to win a gold at the Worlds. Sushil achieved the feat in 2010 in Moscow in the 66kg division.

Deepak, who hails from Jhajjar in Haryana, achieved several milestones on way to entering the final. He became the youngest Indian wrestler to reach the final of a World championship, booked a quota place for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and assured himself of at least a silver, which no other Indian managed to secure in the current edition. Deepak also ensured that India will return from the Worlds with its best-ever haul as the country is now assured of four medals. India had won three medals in 2013.

In the ongoing edition, Vinesh Phogat (53kg), Ravi Dahiya (57kg) and Bajrang Punia (65kg) have won a bronze each, besides securing a quota place for Tokyo. Rahul Aware, who lost his semifinal bout to Georgia’s Beko Lomtadze 6-10 in the non-Olympic weight category of 61kg on Saturday, is in contention for a bronze as he will be competing in the repechage round on Sunday.

After reaching the final, Deepak told TOI that he was always confident of winning a medal at the Worlds in his maiden appearance. “I was always confident about my wrestling. I had the belief that I could win a medal and also secure a quota place for Tokyo Olympics. It’s a wonderful feeling to achieve that. I trained hard for this tournament and was very eager to do well here. The gold I won last month in the Junior Worlds gave a huge boost to my confidence. Now, I am confident of winning it at the senior level too. I am up for the challenge against Yazdani (who is an Olympic and World champion),” he said.
Deepak had ended the country’s 18-yearlong drought for a gold after winning the junior World championships last month in Estonia.

Deepak’s path to the final was all about making sensational comebacks from difficult situations – at least in his opening round and the crucial quarterfinal bout, a victory in which secured him a place in the Olympics.

Starting off, Deepak faced home wrestler Adilet Davlumbayev, who resorted to some rough tactics and raced to a 5-0 lead. However, Deepak drew parity through takedown moves. At 7-7, Deepak earned a tactical point to move into the pre-quarters. He was hardly troubled by Tajikistan’s Bakhodur Kodirov in the next round and won 6-0.

However, in the quarters against Colombia’s Carlos Arturo Mendez, Deepak trailed 3-6 with just one minute to go, but he affected two takedowns in a short span to win the tense encounter 7-6. In the semis, Deepak put on a dominating show to advance to the final with an 8-2 win over Switzerland’s Stefan Reichmuth.

Deepak developed interest in wrestling after accompanying his father and grandfather to local dangals in Chhara village in Jhajjar, where they used to compete once. Deepak used to go there since the age of four, but it was only after watching his elder cousin Sunil Kumar, a well-known name in the dangal circuit, that he started participating in those competitions to earn some quick money to fund his career. In 2015, his cousin took him to Chhatrasal Stadium for formal training, where coach Virender took him under his wings. The rest, as they say, is history.

=== Deepak Punia enters the final===
[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2019%2F09%2F22&entity=Ar02506&sk=362AA98A&mode=text  Sabi Hussain , Sep 22, 2019: ''The Times of India'']

Deepak Punia, 20, entered the final of the World wrestling championship in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan on Saturday, and [was] in line to make it a rare hat-trick of gold medals – he won a gold medal in the Cadet World Championships and then took gold in the Junior World championships.

Only Indian wrestler, double Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar to win a gold at the Worlds. Sushil achieved the feat in 2010 in Moscow in the 66kg division.

In the ongoing edition, Vinesh Phogat (53kg), Ravi Dahiya (57kg) and Bajrang Punia (65kg) have won a bronze each, besides securing a quota place for Tokyo. Rahul Aware, who lost his semifinal bout to Georgia’s Beko Lomtadze 6-10 in the non-Olympic weight category of 61kg on Saturday, is in contention for a bronze as he will be competing in the repechage round.


==As in 2019 Dec==
[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2019%2F12%2F18&entity=Ar02801&sk=1F5BDCAE&mode=text Hindol Basu, Dec 17, 2019 ''Times of India''] 


Indian wrestling’s latest sensation, Deepak Punia, is a soft-spoken, affable person who is extremely economical with his words. Outside the ring, the stocky, 5 feet 6 wrestler’s body language borders around reticence. But make him stand inside an akhada or on a wrestling mat, and an altogether different Deepak emerges – aggressive and attacking, going all out against his opponents.

Over the last year or so, Deepak’s stock has been on the rise and 2019 has been nothing short of phenomenal. The 20-year-old became the first Indian wrestler in 18 years to win gold at Junior World Wrestling Championships (in Tallinn, Estonia). He backed it up with a silver on his debut at the Senior World Wrestling Championships in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. Now, the United World Wrestling (UWW), the sport’s governing body, has named him the ‘Junior Freestyle Wrestler of the Year’.

Deepak was the only Indian wrestler to make it to the final of a weight category in Nur-Sultan. An injury prevented him from taking the mat against Hassan Yazdani of Iran in the final, but Deepak made it a debut to remember by clinching a quota spot for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the 86kg category.

“My confidence level has been increasing with every passing tournament. Getting a medal at the Olympics is a realistic target for me,” Deepak told TOI.

Deepak, who hails from Chhara village in Haryana’s Jhajjar district, has been training at the Capital’s famous Chhatrasal Akhada. He often seeks advice from double Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar, who has played a huge role in shaping Deepak’s wrestling career since the time he joined Chhatrasal in 2015. “I am very fortunate to practice with Sushil bhai. Every day, I learn a lot from him. At the Worlds, I hurt my ankle in the first round itself. It was very difficult to continue, but I was able to do so mainly due to Sushil bhai’s continuous encouragement,” he said. “Deepak’s strength is his aggression and tremendous flexibility on the mat. He was aggressive right from the beginning when he started wrestling at the age of seven years. 

He drew the attention of wrestling fraternity for the first time at the age of 15 when he defeated Satyawart Kadian – the husband of Sakshi Malik – at a national championship,” recalled his childhood coach Virender Singh Dalal.

Recently, the Wrestling Federation of India roped in 2008 Beijing Olympics silver medallist Murad Gaidarov to work closely with Deepak till the Tokyo Olympics. “He (Gaidarov) has been overseeing my training sessions. He has a wealth of experience and he is passing on that to me. I know there is a lot of scope for improvement,” Deepak, who recently became world No. 1 in 86kg category in world rankings, stated.

Deepak’s father Subhash Punia is a milkman by profession and reveals the reason behind his son’s strength: “Deepak has been drinking 4 litres of cow milk every day from the age of seven. When he moved to Delhi in 2014-15, I would travel 70km from Chhara with a big can of milk for my son.”

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