Punia: I want to return with an Olympic wrestling medal
INDIAN freestyle wrestler Bajrang Punia said he was determined to avoid come-from-behind wins in his early bouts which could leave him exhausted even before reaching the medal rounds at the Olympic Games.
The 27-year-old is the second seed in the men’s 65kg category in Tokyo, and the one on whose shoulders rest India’s hopes of winning the country’s first Olympic gold in wrestling.
“I want to come back with a medal. I am working on not giving points early,” Punia told the Times of India’s Sunday newspaper.
“Coach (Emzarios Bentinidis) keeps on telling me that a comefrom-behind victory requires a lot of effort and if I keep on doing that, I will be spent when I reach the medal rounds.”
World champion Russian Gadzhimurad is the top seed in a strong group which, according to Punia, contained 10-12 wrestlers who could beat each other “on their day”.
An Asian and Commonwealth Games gold medallist, Punia’s leg defence is considered probably his only weakness, but the wrestler from Haryana said he was not too worried about it.
“Just focusing on leg defence is not the solution,” he said.
“When the opponent starts getting tired and fatigue sets in him, that’s when I pounce on and attack and accumulate points.
“My style is more on the lines of working hard for my win. I am not able to play the technical game like the other 65kg wrestlers do.
“My strong point is power and endurance. That helps me to come back (in a bout).”