Jitender wakes at 6 am every morning and goes for a long run in the hilly areas of Vijaynagar, Karnataka. He is accompanied by world medallist Bajrang Punia after which they to sweat it out on the mat. This is their daily routine at the Inspire Institute of Sports (IIS) where the duo is currently training. “The weather conditions are really good here. Moreover, since it is a hilly area it is good for long runs and sprints. It is helping us push past our limits,” says Jitender.
Jitender had moved to ISS centre last month after the flights resumed. Upon arrival, he was quarantined for 14-days after which he resumed his training. With his coach Shako Bentinidis back to Georgia, he is now being coached by Cuba’s 2004 Olympic champion, Yandro Quintana. However, it is the Georgian who still runs the show. Two coaches, Jitender says, is a benefit as it helps in learning different styles.
“It is not tough to learn from the Cuban coach as at the end of the day wrestling has just one language. I am here to train and achieve our goals and both Shako and Yandro are helping me in it. Shako tells me about our shortcomings and Yandro helps us overcome them. I believe having two coaches is a benefit for me,” the Asian Championship silver medallist said.
Both Jitender and Bajrang had spent their entire lockdown training together at their Sonepat apartment. While it helped them keep in top shape, it certainly had its limit. “Bajrang is a great help in training but after a point of time, we got used to each other’s style on the mat. We could see through each other,” he told WrestlingTV, “but now at the IIS centre, we have many wrestlers and there are bouts every third day. It is good as we get to experience different kind of wrestling styles which will help us at the bigger stage”.
The Haryana wrestler now spends six to seven hours training which is way more than what he did at Sonepat. He credits the good weather conditions of the city for it. Vijaynagar is a situated along the banks of Tungabhadra river in Karnataka. Thanks to its location, the temperature there is moderate which proves beneficial for athletes. Long runs and uphill sprints, Jitender says, are much easier as it never gets too hot or too cold. “I love it here. We use to train for four hours daily in Sonepat after which we would start getting exhausted due to the weather. But here (Vijayanagar) the temperature is so good. It would rain sometimes followed by a light breeze in evening and morning. We can now train for nearly seven hours without any sweat”.
Jitender still has his sight set for the Tokyo Olympics and believes that world championship in December will be a great way to test his skills. He is currently the top-ranked 74kg freestyle wrestler in India. And had it not been for the pandemic, the wrestler could be giving final touches to his Tokyo Games preparations. But due to the delayed games, he will now have to prove his mettle once again at the national trials which are to be held next year. He would have to go against the likes of twin Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar, and 2010 Commonwealth Games champion Narsingh Yadav who is returning from a four-year ban.
Jitender, however, is not scared of the challenge as it would only help him train harder. “They both are my seniors and I have a lot of respect for them. They have way more experience than I have. Sushil pehlwanji has been my idol for so long and I have learnt so much from him. But I believe that I have more endurance than him which might help me. As for Narsinghji, he has been out of competition for very long. So, I do not know much about him and his style of wrestling. But I will keep practising and hope for the best,” he concluded.
