Yes, the outbreak of coronavirus has indeed shelved all the Olympic plans of athletes but it has also allowed them to introspect. India’s ace wrestler Bajrang Punia, 25, says that time away from the wrestling mat has given him a chance to learn about himself better and work on the shortcomings. “This lockdown has made us learn a lot about ourselves. Before coronavirus broke out, we trained or competed most of the time. Due to this we never got time to introspect ourselves. But now, since there are no competitions we have got time to analyse our techniques and sharpen them. Jitender and I watch our previous matches and accordingly work on our weaknesses,” adding that all this will only help them in getting them better.
Punia is currently staying in his Sonepat apartment with his best friend and country’s present 74kg weight class wrestler Jitender. The duo has installed a wrestling mat and various free weights to keep themselves in shape until things normalise. But only training and no competition will not allow them to test their skills. However, the world medallist believes completion although necessary cannot take place in the current situation and nature of the sport.
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“Everyone is at equal footing currently. Lack of competition will affect everyone’s form (a little). But there is no concern about the performance. It keeps going up and down even when the wrestling season is on. We will regain the lost form once things normalise. And we pray we return to normal soon, and from next year everything gets back to its previous self — training, sparring and going to international camps. Until then we have to stay together and fight strong,” he told WresltingTV.
Indian Olympic Association president Narinder Batra via webinar organised by FICCI had pointed out that while many national federations can resume competitions from October given “the situation does not go bad”, contact sport like wrestling and boxing will have to wait until a vaccine is found.
Punia supported Batra’s decision and said “Batra is right in saying so. IOA must have thought something before taking such a decision. They have a full team of doctors who are monitoring the situation closely. It is not like they are trying to bring contact sport down, it is just the nature of the sport which (for now) does not allow us to resume in full swing”.
Punia is amongst the four Indian wrestlers who have confirmed the Tokyo Games quota after winning medals at World Championships in Nur-Sultan. While he booked the berth in 65kg, Ravi Dahiya and Deepak Punia have secured the place in 57kg and 86kg respectively. Vinesh Phogat is the lone wrestler in India’s women’s wrestling division to have booked a place for the Summer Games which will be held next year.
