Tokyo Olympics-bound Bajrang Punia opens up about training amid COVID-19

Wrestler Bajrang Punia pledged his six months earning to the Haryana Relief Fund to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. (Image: PTI)

For 26-year-old Haryana wrestler Bajrang Punia, Coronavirus is posing many challenges.

Punia, a freestyle wrestler, has won a silver medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in the men's 61-kg category. He also won a silver medal at the 2014 Asian Games in the same category. At the 2018 Commonwealth Games, he won a gold medal in freestyle 65-kg category. In the same year, he won a gold at the Asian Games as well. He has also received the Arjuna Award, Padma Shri and the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award.

For Punia, who was busy training for the Olympics last year, the first struggle was dealing with the Coronavirus situation. Then came the news of the Tokyo Olympics getting postponed. The Tokyo Olympics, which was originally scheduled to take place between July 24 and August 9 last year, was rescheduled due to the pandemic. It will take place this year now – from July 23 to August 8.

Challenges due to COVID

"For me, the biggest challenge was to save me and my family from Coronavirus. So, we made sure to follow all the guidelines that were issued by the government. Then came the training part, which became another challenge in times of COVID-19. Wrestling is a contact sport, so I was taking more precautions. I started training at home last year. While I got all the gym equipment at home, I had no partner to train with. So, I would say training wasn't 100 percent," Punia told Moneycontrol.

Despite the challenges due to COVID-19, when he got the chance, he won a gold for India. At Matteo Pellicone in Rome, a wrestling tournament which was scheduled between March 4-7, Punia defeated Mongolia's Tulga Tumur Ochir in the final of the 65-kg freestyle event.

Punia was also elated as the 14-member Indian wrestling contingent bagged as many as eight medals -- two gold, one silver and five bronze -- at Matteo Pellicone.

But it wasn't easy for Punia to get back on the mat after almost a year's break.

"I couldn't go to any tournament last year, so that was a difficult time. When things resumed and I had my first bout in the US, I felt my body was heavy. But things settled from the second bout onwards. I was training every day, but there is a huge difference between training and bouts. By playing tournaments, we get to know how our performance is and what are missing. After the US tournament, I worked on the mistakes I made there and didn't repeat them in Italy," said Punia.

First dose of COVID-19 vaccine

The wrestler who is training hard for the upcoming Olympics said that he has taken the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

“Every player who has qualified for the Tokyo Olympics has been asked to take the vaccine. I am not advising anything to other athletes. I have already taken the first dose of the vaccine and am trying to get another dose after 28 days. Athletes should consult doctors as well as their coaches about taking the vaccine," he said.

New brand partnership

 Ahead of the Olympics, Punia joined hands with sports protein powder brand Optimum Nutrition. On Optimum Nutrition becoming Punia's supplement partner, the wrestler highlighted that nutrition is very important for every athlete as they can't rely on everyday meals for all the proteins they need. "Athletes cannot compromise on the protein intake. I spend around Rs 50,000-70,000 on nutrition alone in a month," he said.

Punia, who said that the partnership will be beneficial for him for the Olympics, added that he is only focussing on his training. He is off social media and has kept everything aside and is only working hard to prepare for the Olympics.

"Pressure is there because everyone is expecting from us. But I am working hard to win a medal for the country," said Punia.