They say ‘history is written by the victors’ and by winning 3 medals at the World Wrestling Championships, Bajrang Punia has immortalized himself as the only Indian to accomplish this feat. It was not all about glory and world championships though, being born in a Jat family in Khudan Village of Jhajjar district in Haryana, his journey has been far from easy.

Bajrang’s family didn’t have the money for traditional sports, leading him to pursue sports such as wrestling and kabaddi at a young age. Being a son of a former wrestler, a young Bajrang Punia naturally inclined towards wrestling and trained at a local mud wrestling school. It’s fair to say that the boy was a natural, and the positive reinforcement he received while wrestling was enough for him to often skip school and practice. Soon enough, his family relocated to Sonepat so that Bajrang could attend a regional centre of the Sports Authority of India.

Bajrang Punia has had his fair share of obstacles that the wrestler was forced to overcome, including the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics. Comparing it to ‘exam preparations’ the 27 year old was forced to restart his training regime from scratch after qualifying for freestyle wrestling for India. He has had his fair share of controversy as well, having once publicly criticized the government in their selection of the Khel Ratna Award, as the award was given to Virat Kohli who had an achievement score of zero compared to himself, who had the highest total of 80. However, Bajrang has also received his fair share of recognition in a short span of his career, being awarded the Arjuna Award in 2015, Padma Shri and Khel Ratna Award in 2019 and FICCI India Sports Award in 2020.

Bajrang Punia can be described as a “pioneer”, as he was the first Indian wrestler to be ranked World Number 1 in any category and the first to play in the German League. Like any explorer, he has ventured into the road less travelled and come out on top. His bravery, hard work and perseverance have paved the way for future Indian wrestlers and broadened their horizons. He may not have won gold or silver at the Tokyo Olympics, but Bajrang Punia has captured the hearts of billions with his relentless pursuit of glory and his bronze medal accomplishment is not something the 27 year old would consider “settling” for.

The future is bright for Indian wrestling with stars such as Bajrang Punia leading the way, it’s only a matter of time before the medal color changes for the better.

Also read: Bajrang Punia wins Olympics Bronze; beats Kazakhstan’s Daulet Niyazbekov 8-0