Introduction
Bajrang Punia (born 26 February 1994) is a freestyle wrestler from India. He competes in 65 kg weight category. He has won three medals at the World Wrestling Championships.
Life and family
Punia was born in Khudan village of Jhajjar district in the state of Haryana, India. He began wrestling at the age of seven and was encouraged to pursue the sport by his father. Punia grew up in rural India, a poor part of the country. His family did not have money for traditional sports. Instead, he had to partake in free sports like wrestling and Kabaddi.Punia's father was a wrestler as well and at a young age, his family started him at a local mud wrestling school. There were no comic books or superheroes in India so Punia looked up to wrestlers. Punia started to skip school to go to wrestling practice.In 2015, his family moved to Sonepat so that he can attend a regional centre of Sports Authority of India.
Currently, he works in Indian Railways on the post ofGazetted officer OSD Sports . Punia enjoys seeking out knowledge of his village elders.
In 2020, Punia qualified India for The Olympics in freestyle wrestling. Due to COVID-19, the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics were postponed. Punia said that having to train for another year isn't like a postponed exam. Instead, he will have to start his training over.
Career
2013 Asian Wrestling Championships
In New Delhi, India, in the semi-final bout, Bajrang lost 3-1 to Hwang Ryong-hak of North Korea to win the bronze medal in the men's freestyle 60 kg category.
In the Round of 16, he faced Shogo Maeda of Japan, beating him 3-1. His opponent in the quarter-finals was Morad Hassan of Iran whom he beat 3-1 to qualify for the semi-finals.
2013 World Wrestling Championships
In Budapest, Hungary, Bajrang won the bronze medal in the men's freestyle 60 kg category by qualifying for the bronze medal bout through the repechage round. There, he met Enkhsaikhany Nyam-Ochir of Mongolia and beat him 9-2.
In the Round of 32, he faced Vladimir Dubov of Bulgaria who beat him 7-0. With the Bulgarian grappler qualifying for the final bout, Bajrang then faced Shogo Maeda of Japan and earned a walkover. His next opponent was Ivan Guidea of Romania, and with a 10-3 win over the Romanian, Bajrang earned a spot in the bronze medal bout.
2014 Commonwealth Games
In Glasgow, Scotland, he won the silver medal in the men's freestyle 61 kg category, after losing 1-4 to David Tremblay of Canada.
In the Round of 16, Bajrang faced Sasha Madyarchyk of England and beat him 4-0. He faced Marno Plaatjies of South Africa in the quarter-finals and won 4-1. The Nigerian wrestler, Amas Daniel, was his opponent in the semi-finals and overcame him in a 3-1 scoreline.
2014 Asian Games
In Incheon, South Korea, he won the silver medal in the Men's freestyle 61 kg category, after losing 1-3 to Masoud Esmaeilpoorjouybari of Iran.
In the Round of 16, he faced Tuvshintulga Tumenbileg of Mongolia and beat him 3-1. His quarter-finals opponent was Farkhodi Usmonzoda of Tajikistan whom he beat 4-1 to qualify for the semi-finals. He was assured of a medal when he beat Noriyuki Takatsuka of Japan 4-1 in the semi-finals.
2014 Asian Wrestling Championships
In Astana, Kazakhstan, Bajrang won the silver medal in the men's freestyle 61 kg category, losing 0-4 to Masoud Esmaeilpour of Iran.
In the Round of 16, Bajrang met Lee Seung-Chul of South Korea whom he beat 3-1. In the quarter-finals, he faced Noriyuki Takatsuka of Japan whom he beat 3-1 to qualify for the semi-finals. There he met Nazmandakh Lhamgarmaa of Mongolia whom he beat 3-1 to assure himself of a medal.
2015 World Wrestling Championships
Unlike his fellow Narsingh Yadav, Bajrang wasn't able to win a medal at the tournament in Las Vegas and finished 5th.
In the Round of 32, he met Batboldyn Nomin of Mongolia who beat him 10-0. With the Mongolian qualifying for the final bout in the 61 kg category, Bajrang got a chance to contest in the Repêchage round. His first opponent in the repêchage round was Reece Humphrey of the USA whom he beat 6-0 easily. The second repêchage opponent was Beka Lomtadze from Georgia who put up a fight but was ultimately overcome 13-6 by the Indian. Unfortunately, he fell at the last hurdle, drawing the bronze medal bout 6-6 but his opponent Vasyl Shuptar of Ukraine, scoring the last point.
Asian Wrestling Championship 2017
In 2017 May, he won a gold medal at the Asian Wrestling Championship held at Delhi.
Pro Wrestling League
Bajrang was the second acquisition of the JSW owned Bangalore franchise in the auction conducted in New Delhi. The wrestler was picked up for a sum of Rs 29.5 lakh.
The Pro Wrestling League was scheduled to be held from 10 December to 27 December across six cities.
2018 Commonwealth Games
In Gold Coast, Australia, he won the gold medal in the men's freestyle 65 kg category. He overcame Kane Charig of Wales by Technical Superiority to clinch the gold.
2018 Asian Games
On August 19, he won the Men's freestyle 65 kg /Gold medal. He defeated Japanese Wrestler Takatani Daichi 11-8; the score was locked at 6-6 after the first round.
2018 World Wrestling Championships
Bajrang won Silver at the 2019 World Wrestling Championships. After that Silver Medal, he claimed World No. 1 in 65 kg category.
2019 World Wrestling Championships
Bahrang won Bronze for the second time at a World Championshkp, thereby qualifying India for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in the 65 kg freestyle wrestling event.
2020 Rome Ranking Series
On 18 January, Bajrang defeated Jordan Oliver 4-3 in the final in the 65kg freestyle category at the Ranking Series.
International Competition
World Championship
| Year | Competition | Venue | Event | Rank | opponent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2019 World Wrestling Championships | Nur-sultan | 65 kg | 
|
 Daulet Niyazbekov (KAZ)
|
| 2018 | 2018 World Wrestling Championships | Budapest | 65 kg | 
|
 Takuto Otoguro (JPN)
|
| 2017 | 2017 World Wrestling Championships | Paris France | 65 kg | 13th |  Zurabi Iakobishvili (GEO)
|
| 2016 | 2016 World Wrestling Championships | Budapest | 61 kg | 9th |  Akhmednabi Gvarzatilov (AZE)
|
| 2015 | 2015 World Wrestling Championships | Las Vegas | 61 kg | 5th |  Batboldyn Nomin (MGL)
|
| 2013 | 2013 World Wrestling Championships | Hungry | 60 kg |
|
 Vladimir Dubov (BUL)
|
U23 World Championship
| Year | Competition | Venue | Event | Rank | opponent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 2017 World U23 Wrestling Championships | Bydgoszcz | 65 kg |
|
 Nachyn Kuular (RUS)
|
Asian Games
| Year | Competition | Venue | Event | Rank | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 2018 Asian Games | Jakarta | 65kg | 
|
Daichi Takatani (JPN)
|
| 2014 | 2014 Asian Games | Incheon | 61kg |
|
 Masoud Esmaeilpour (IRI)
|
Commonwealth Games
| Year | Competition | Venue | Event | Rank | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 2018 Commonwealth Games | Gold Coast | 65kg |
|
 Kane Charig (WAL)
|
| 2014 | 2014 Commonwealth Games | Glasgow | 61kg |
|
 David Tremblay (CAN)
|
Asian Wrestling Championship
| Year | Competition | Venue | Event | Rank | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2020 Asian Wrestling Championships | New Delhi | 65kg |
|
Takuto Otoguro (JPN)
|
| 2019 | 2019 Asian Wrestling Championships | Xi'an | 65kg |
|
Sayatbek Okassov (KAZ)
|
| 2018 | 2018 Asian Wrestling Championships | Bishkek | 65kg |
|
Daichi Takatani (JPN)
|
| 2017 | 2017 Asian Wrestling Championships | New Delhi | 65kg |
|
 Lee Seung-chul (KOR)
|
| 2016 | 2016 Asian Wrestling Championships | Bangkok | 65kg | 10th |  Kum Su JON (PRK)
|
| 2014 | 2014 Asian Wrestling Championships | Astana | 61kg |
|
Masoud Esmaeilpour (IRI)
|
| 2013 | 2013 Asian Wrestling Championships | New Delhi | 60kg |
|
Yang Jae-hoon (KOR)
|
Record against opponents
| Weight | Players | Matches | Results | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight | Players | Matches | Results | Change | |
| Won | Lost | ||||
| 65kg | Alejandro Valdés | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| 65kg | Takuto Otoguro | 2 | 0 | 2 | -2 |
| 65kg | Daichi Takatani | 3 | 2 | 1 | +1 |
| 65kg | Zurabi Iakobishvili | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 |
| 61kg | Beka Lomtadze | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| 65kg | Batchuluuny Batmagnai | 3 | 3 | 0 | +3 |
| 65kg | Tömör-Ochiryn Tulga | 2 | 2 | 0 | +2 |
| 65kg | Batboldyn Nomin | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 |
| 65kg | Enkhsaikhany Nyam-Ochir | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 |
| 65kg | Lee Seung-chul | 3 | 3 | 0 | +3 |
| 65kg | Daulet Niyazbekov | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 65kg | Ashirov Meirzhan | 2 | 2 | 0 | +2 |
| 65kg | Sayatbek Okassov | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| 65kg | Meisam Nassiri | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 65kg | Younes Emami | 4 | 4 | 0 | +4 |
| 65kg | Masoud Esmaeilpour | 3 | 0 | 3 | -3 |
| 65kg | Kim Kuk-gwang | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| 65kg | Viktor Rassadin | 2 | 2 | 0 | +2 |
| 65kg | Murshid Mutalimov | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| 65kg | Kurban Shiraev | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| 65kg | Nachyn Kuular | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 |
| 65kg | Sirojiddin Khasanov | 3 | 3 | 0 | +3 |
| 65kg | Zain Retherford | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| 65kg | Oliver Jordan | 2 | 2 | 0 | +2 |
| 65kg | Yianni Diakomihalis | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 |
| 65kg | Gor Ogannesyan | 2 | 2 | 0 | +2 |
| 65kg | Vasyl Shuptar | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 65kg | Mustafa Kaya | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 65kg | Abdulqosim Fayziev | 3 | 3 | 0 | +3 |
| Won | Lost | ||||
| 65kg | Alejandro Valdés | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| 65kg | Takuto Otoguro | 2 | 0 | 2 | -2 |
| 65kg | Daichi Takatani | 3 | 2 | 1 | +1 |
| 65kg | Zurabi Iakobishvili | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 |
| 61kg | Beka Lomtadze | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| 65kg | Batchuluuny Batmagnai | 3 | 3 | 0 | +3 |
| 65kg | Tömör-Ochiryn Tulga | 2 | 2 | 0 | +2 |
| 65kg | Batboldyn Nomin | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 |
| 65kg | Enkhsaikhany Nyam-Ochir | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 |
| 65kg | Lee Seung-chul | 3 | 3 | 0 | +3 |
| 65kg | Daulet Niyazbekov | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 65kg | Ashirov Meirzhan | 2 | 2 | 0 | +2 |
| 65kg | Sayatbek Okassov | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| 65kg | Meisam Nassiri | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 65kg | Younes Emami | 4 | 4 | 0 | +4 |
| 65kg | Masoud Esmaeilpour | 3 | 0 | 3 | -3 |
| 65kg | Kim Kuk-gwang | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| 65kg | Viktor Rassadin | 2 | 2 | 0 | +2 |
| 65kg | Murshid Mutalimov | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| 65kg | Kurban Shiraev | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| 65kg | Nachyn Kuular | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 |
| 65kg | Sirojiddin Khasanov | 3 | 3 | 0 | +3 |
| 65kg | Zain Retherford | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| 65kg | Oliver Jordan | 2 | 2 | 0 | +2 |
| 65kg | Yianni Diakomihalis | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 |
| 65kg | Gor Ogannesyan | 2 | 2 | 0 | +2 |
| 65kg | Vasyl Shuptar | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 65kg | Mustafa Kaya | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 65kg | Abdulqosim Fayziev | 3 | 3 | 0 | +3 |
Beka Lomtadze
Awards
- Arjuna Award, 2015
- Padma Shri Award, 2019
- Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, 2019