Deepak Punia and Ravi Dahiya are the Jai-Veeru of Indian wrestling. They joined the famed Chhatrasal Akhara about the same time, and have been with each other through the thick and thin. While Dahiya joined the academy in 2010, Punia took admission in 2015. But now, due to coronavirus lockdown, while Dahiya is currently stuck at the Chhatrasal Akhara, Punia is in his village in Jhajjar. With no hope of lockdown ending soon, the two wrestlers are missing each other. The only source of keeping in touch is WhatsApp.
“Yes, I do miss his presence. We keep in touch via phone and sometimes WhatsApp and that is all we can do. Back when things were normal, we use to practice together and made sure we were sparring partners in almost all training sessions,” Ravi Dahiya says.
During their time at the akhara, both the wrestlers post-training sessions sat down together and discussed on their shortcomings and how to rectify them. Besides this, they would joke around with their fellow-wrestlers.
Dahiya said with Punia on his side, time just flew by every time. “We use to sit together and discuss strategies related to training and wrestling in general. Sometimes we would go around pulling each-others leg. It was good spending time with him,” the 22-year-old world medallist told WrestlingTV.
Punia also shares Dahiya’s feelings. He says, “Yes, it is obvious to feel his absence. But we keep in touch through phone, so that is a plus point”.
“He called me the other day. And we talked about various things. It felt good,” the world silver medallist added.
Plans for Olympics
Both Punia and Dahiya have confirmed India’s quota in 86kg and 57kg men’s freestyle respectively. Before the outbreak of coronavirus, the duo had attended a national camp in Russia with coach Murad Gaidarov. However, the Russian coach had flown back before the travel restrictions were imposed. So, they now stay in touch through WhatsApp and discuss training plans. Besides this, Punia is also taking help from men’s freestyle national team coach Virender.
“I call him (Murad) quite often. He has asked me to keep training but not to push myself a lot as there is still time for the Tokyo Games. Virender coach also helps me in preparing my training plan and keeps me motivated,” Punia said.
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