The long wait is finally over. Shako has finally reunited with his monkey team of Bajrang Punia and Jitender. Bajrang after meeting his coach said, “I am happy to reunite with my coach. Covid-19 can take a back seat now. We have work to do”. The Georgian had returned to India last month after getting special permission from the government. Since then, he has been under quarantine. For the first seven days, he was in isolation in a hotel in New Delhi, after which he flew to Vijaynagar, where he will resume training soon..
After meeting Shako at the IIS campus, both the wrestlers were happy and quickly hugged him. Then, they picked Shako and swung him for a few seconds before capturing the happy moment. From tomorrow, they will resume training with Bajrang and Jitender for the Tokyo Olympics.
Plan for the Tokyo Olympics
Bajrang and Jitender have been training at the Inspire Institute of Sports for past one month. In Shako’s absence, they had been working under Cuba’s 2004 Olympics champion Yandro Quintana. However, it was the Georgian who prepared the weekly training module.
Shako said that they will begin training for each opponent separately whenever they resume training together. “When we resume training we will change the characteristics of the training and will prepare for each opponent individually,” he said adding that their goal is to win India its first Olympic gold medal.
“We do not have to keep in top shape for a whole year but we need to be fit and hit the peak by the time Olympics arrive. This is the most important thing for us”.