Revision as of 15:55, 21 October 2020

Graphic courtesy: The Times of India

Career highlights

As in 2018, Oct

Bajrang Punia- Career highlights, as in October 2018
From: Bajrang falls short in Worlds final, October 23, 2018: The Times of India

See graphic:

Bajrang Punia- Career highlights, as in October 2018

2018

As in July 2018

August 18, 2018: The Times of India

2014 Incheon Asian Games gold medallist, Yogeshwar Dutt’s protégé is coming into the competition on the back of a hat-trick of titles at the Gold Coast CWG, Yasar Dogu International in Turkey and Tbilisi Grand Prix in Georgia. He is ranked No. 1 in Asia and No.2 in the world in his weight category. At the last Asiad in Incheon, he had won a silver and the Sonepat grappler would be eager to improve upon that.

Asiad: Gold

August 20, 2018:The Times of India

Bajrang Punia's top medals, till August 2018
From: August 20, 2018:The Times of India

Bajrang, who had virtually faced no resistance in all his bouts till the final of the men’s 65kg category, was stretched till the end by Japan’s Takatani Daichi. The Indian survived some anxious moments to ultimately emerge the winner.

Bajrang had started the final on a confident note, racing to 6-0 lead in the first 45 seconds of the bout, raising propects of yet another lopsided finish to the contest. But the Japanese fought back with four points in the next one minute and two more in the second round to level scores. Bajrang took four points to regain the lead but Daichi reduced the margin by claiming two more. With time running out, the Japanese went for a last-gasp winner but Bajrang held his nerve to clinch the thriller 11-8.

2019

India 3rd in medals, 2nd on points

Jaspreet Sahni, April 25, 2019: The Times of India

The 'Bhaarandaaz daav' and Bajrang Punia's gold in 60 seconds

NEW DELHI: Nothing was working for Bajrang Punia. The clock showed just over a minute left and the scoreboard was 7-2 in favour of Kazakhstan's Sayatbek Okassov. The Asian Championships gold was slipping out of the grasp of India's best grappler, as the referee extended his hand to separate the two wrestlers. Bajrang stood hands on hips, plotting the next move.

Before the tournament, the 65kg Indian played a bit of mind games. "I have added a few new moves in order to surprise my opponents." Bajrang had 60 seconds and a bit to bring that surprise out in the open. It was time to unleash the Bhaarandaaz daav (hold). In 2008, the move was one of the major weapons that helped Sushil Kumar end India's 56-year wait for another Olympic medal after KD Jadhav in 1952. Defeating Leonid Spiridonov, Sushil won bronze in the 66kg category and made Bhaarandaaz famous.

To define the move in words, the wrestler puts one hand beneath the abdomen of his opponent to swing him around for a take-down as the limbs touch the mat, resulting in a couple of points.

Coincidentally, like Bajrang's rival Okassov on Tuesday, Spiridonov was also a Kazakh. The winners on both occasions - Indians.

" Yeh daav hai to purana par sab ka apna apna tareeka hota hai isko istemaal karne ka (it's an old move but every wrestler has his own way of executing it)," Bajrang told TimesofIndia.com in Hindi from Xi'an, China.

But it takes special skills to overturn a five-point deficit to win in the last minute of a wrestling match. And synchronization between the mind, body and skills becomes critical to the outcome when you add the element of 'gold-medal pressure' to the script.

" Jab hum mat pe bout larr rahe hote hain tab ki stuation alag hoti hai (a match-situation is entirely different from training)," the 2018 Commonwealth Games and Asian Games champion added, pointing at the pressure element.

Bajrang entered 2019 on the back of extremely successful 12 months, in which the only missing gold was at the World Championships, where he lost in the final.

Against Okassov on Tuesday, Bajrang conceded a 0-4 lead and could narrow it by only a point at the break, when the Kazakh led 5-2. The second period began with further two points for Okassov with a takedown.

The turnaround followed and was led by the Bhaarandaaz move that reduced the deficit to 4-7. Sensing an element of tiredness in Okassov, Bajrang employed mixed tactics with a series of gut-wrenches to go ahead 12-7, and win. " Yeh to mujhe aap se pata lag raha hai ki mere gold ki ginti kitni hai (I am getting to know the count of my gold medals from you)," said a modest Bajrang when reminded of his unprecedented success over the last 18 months. " Main bas kushti karta hu aur poori koshish rehti hai, baaki jeetna haarna yeh sab chalta rehta hai (I just wrestle and give my best; winning and losing is part of life)."

En route the final, the 25-year-old wrestler from Haryana, who recently reclaimed his No. 1 rank, conceded just one point. Before strolling past Uzbekistan’s Sirojiddin Khasanov 12-1 in the semi-final, Bajrang defeated Charles Fern of Sri Lanka on technical superiority and registered a 6-0 win over Peyman Biabani of Iran.

In a sport as technical as wrestling, it's not always easy to spot the change in technique or execution of a specific move. But Bajrang is not in any hurry to unravel everything new in his repertoire.

" Saare moves ka parikshan kar pana mumkin nahi ho pata. Par is baar maine bharandaaz ka prayog kiya aur safal raha (it's not easy to test all moves in a tournament, but I successfully experimented Bhaarandaaz this time)," said the Arjuna and Padma Shri awardee.

A bigger challenge awaits Bajrang in September this year at the World Championships, which will also offer a chance to qualify for the Olympics. All wrestlers reaching the medal rounds of the tournament across weight categories will book a ticket to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Hiring the services of Georgian coach Shako Bentinidis since the start of last year has evidently made Bajrang a better wrestler, and the duo will soon hit the practice mats in a bid to improve on the colour of Bajrang's silver medal at the 2018 World Championships.

But Bajrang said changing too many things before a major competition can also prove counter-productive.

" Moves aur style develop karna itna aasaan nahi hota. Competition se pehle naya techniqe add karne se nuksan bhi ho sakta hai (it's not easy to incorporate new techniques and it can sometimes cost you dear if done closer to competitions)," explained Bajrang, who bagged his fifth Asian Championships medal and second gold after 2017.

" Par kuchh changes hum jarur karte hain apni purani bouts dekh ke. Yeh sab basic training ko dhyan mein rakh kar karna hota hai (but we do watch videos of old bouts to change little things, with main focus on basics)," he added.

And he concluded like a true pehelwaan, always attached to his roots and filled with respect towards the guru who shaped his career. In Bajrang's case, it is Yogeshwar Dutt.

" Agar neev mazboot na ho to imarat kabhi bhi dhai sakti hai (a building without solid foundation can collapse anytime).”