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Punia's single-minded focus is on taking gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. To that end, he has even limited his mobile use

Punia's single-minded focus is on taking gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. To that end, he has even limited his mobile use

DATE

06 May 2021

Punia's single-minded focus is on taking gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. To that end, he has even limited his mobile use

bajrang Punia can be hard on himself. "I didn't train to finish second best in Budapest," he tweeted after losing in the final of the 2018 World Wrestling Championships in October. "It was difficult to accept the result, but the loss will only make me stronger." Earlier this year, he was miffed at not being considered for the Khel Ratna, a reasonable demand given the near-impeccable couple of years the wrestler has had. He has won gold both at the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games followed by a silver at the World Championships, capping off 2018 with the world No. 1 rank in the 65 kg category. This hunger is one of the reasons why many believe Punia is destined to join the august company of Abhinav Bindra and win an individual gold at the Olympics.

Hailing from Haryana, the cradle of Indian wrestling, Punia's father (himself a university-level wrestler) was convinced early on that his son would be an exceptional wrestler some day. At the age of seven, Punia would get his first lessons with Narendra Pehalwan at the Lala Diwan Chand Akhada in Chhara village. Punia says Indian wrestlers have to keep proving their mettle at international tournaments with medals-like Sushil Kumar did with his bronze at the 2008 Olympics which ended India's 56-year-old medal drought in wrestling-for it's the only way to ensure that mats become the norm in rural areas. "Frankly, it is very hard adjusting from mud to the mat," he said. "Getting a proper grip is not easy, the feet tend to slip." His family moved to Sonepat so that he could train at the Sports Authority of India facility there.

More recently, Punia has been training with Olympian wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt. Indeed, in his single-minded quest to become an Olympic champion, Punia has started following mentor Dutt and limiting his mobile use. With the Wrestling Federation of India putting him in the Grade A category under the new contract system (it comes with a Rs 30 lakh annual retainership and the support of JSW Sports) he can now afford international coaching expertise, in the form of former Olympic wrestler Emzarios Bentinidis of Georgia. And the results are showing. The world No. 1 rank is a feat no Indian has achieved. Punia, though, won't rest easy. He intends to be the sultan of the sport and, for him, that means Olympic gold.