Bajrang Punia shares his struggle in preparation for the Olympics due to lack of competitive bouts

One of India’s most high profile wrestlers, Bajrang Punia is seeking regular competition to get into that mentality to perform well in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. Punia is currently training for the upcoming  Matteo Pellicone Rome Rankings Series which will be held in March and it is also a part of his preparation for the Summer Games.

The 26-year old is only one of the four Indian wrestlers who have booked their place in the Tokyo Olympics and he is also a sportsperson who is considered as a medal hopeful for the biog event scheduled in July this year.

However in the buildup to the Olympics, just like other athletes and sportsperson Punia’s preparation has been pegged back by COVID-19. Lack of competitive tournaments have hindered his progress and even though he tried his best by joining a USA training camp for two months, competitions are a vital factor in a wrestler’s progress.

“You cannot win medals simply by training in gyms. Tournament exposure is vital to bring out the best in an athlete,” Bajrang Punia told the Olympic Channel.

“Tournaments let you finetune your performance and help you understand your flaws better,” he added. “Only by participating in tournaments, you can know whether to focus more on power, speed or stamina.”

The last time he was in action was way back in the Asian Wrestling Championship which was held in February last year. Punia skipped the Individual World Cup which was held in Belgrade in December. Even during his training stint in America, he opted to take part in an eight-man FloWrestling event which he eventually won but it was an unofficial invitational tournament.

The 26-year old highlighted the fact that despite training and sparring regularly it is of prime importance for a wrestler to be competing in these tournaments. It allows them to remain in touch with the bouts and help them grow as an athlete. Therefore Punia shared his experience at the FloWrestling event as he competed after a long period of time.

“The first bout was almost like an out of body experience. It just didn’t feel like it was my body on the mat. I had to push myself to the limits to win. It got a bit better in the second bout and more so in the one after that,” Bajrang Punia highlighted.

The 2018 Commonwealth Games Gold medallist also revealed how constant following of COVID-19 protocols and quarantines have hindered his growth as a wrestler. “Not just me, it’s the same with every athlete. You have to quarantine for days and you can do only so much while being holed up in a room. It’s a tough time to be a sportsperson. I can only hope that COVID gets tackled soon and things normalise.”

Lastly, when quizzed about his preparation for the Tokyo Olympics and which are the areas he is looking to improve, Punia remained tight-lipped and kept his cards close to the chest.

Some things should remain secret,” Bajrang said. “Let’s say I am working on fixing my flaws and basics like speed and power.”

“In wrestling, most of us know a lot about each other’s preparations. But with the Olympics approaching, we can’t put plans out in the open,” he concluded.