Jhajjar’s Punia only a step away from grappling glory
BECOMES THE YOUNGEST INDIAN TO MAKE IT TO THE FINAL OF WORLD WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIP
CHANDIGARH: This man is on a mission. The rising wrestling star from Haryana’s Jhajjar, Deepak Punia, 20, on Saturday became the youngest Indian to make it to the final of the world championship.
What’s more, the youngster also bagged a Tokyo 2020 Olympic berth when he steamrolled Switzerland’s Stefan Reichmuth in a semifinal bout in Kazakhstan with an impressive 8-2 score. Deepak is the fourth Indian grappler to book a Tokyo ticket this week, following Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia and Ravi Kumar Dahiya. While each of them pocketed a bronze medal, Deepak will be the only Indian to return home with at least a silver.
Deepak, who is eyeing the hat-trick of world titles, is already a cadet world champion and current junior world gold medallist.
“After he won the world championship this year, I was pretty confident that he would deliver in the senior category too. But, the way he is going, it is really exceptional and we hope to see him the lifting the world title tomorrow,” says Deepak’s elder brother Sunil Chotiwala, who is instrumental in shaping his career.
“I use to take him (Deepak) with me for training at the village akhada. But going by my personal experience, I knew that there were limitations in training in akharas that have mud pits. I wanted him to excel in the sport, so we shifted Deepak, then 13, to mat. Two years later, in 2015, we got him enrolled to famous Chatarsal Stadium in Delhi. The decision proved to be a game-changer,” says Sunil.
Recalling Deepak’s earlier days, Sunil says, “As a kid, he used to drink a kettle full of almond-milk in one go. That got him a nick name of ‘ketli pehalwan’. Even today, local wrestlers address him as ‘ketli pehalwan’.”
“Our entire family has only one mission. We want to see him making it to the Olympic podium,” he adds.