The 2020 Games was Punia's first Olympics and he was one of India's brightest propects for medals in Tokyo.
He has performed well consistently for the past three years at major tournaments. He won gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, and silver and bronze at the 2018 and 2019 editions of the World Championship. He was among the eight Indian wrestlers who represented India at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Bajrang Punia's early life
Born on February 26, 1994, Punia belongs to Khudan village of Jhajjar district in Haryana. He started wrestling at the age of 7 and was encouraged by his father, who was also a wrestler, to pursue the sport. In 2015, his family moved to Sonepat so that he could join the regional centre of the Sports Authority of India. He is currently employed by the Indian Railways.
Bajrang Punia's career
His first major tournament was the 2013 Asian Wrestling Championship in New Delhi. He settled for bronze at the tournament after losing to North Korea’s Hwang Ryong-hak in the men’s freestyle 60-kg category. In the World Wrestling Championship 2013, Punia won a bronze medal in the 60-kg category. In 2014, Punia upgraded the colour of his medal to silver at the Commonwealth Games in the men’s 61-kg category. He repeated the performance in the 2014 Asian Games. Again, in 2014, Punia settled for a silver medal at the 2014 Asian Wrestling Championship. At the 2015 World Wrestling Championship, he performed poorly and finished 5th in the tournament. He tasted his first gold medal, finally, after two years at the 2017 Asian Wrestling Championship held in Delhi. He won another gold at the Commonwealth Games in 2018 in the men’s freestyle 65-kg category. He scored his 3rd gold medal in the 2018 Asian Games. He became world number 1 in the 65-kg category after clinching a silver medal at the 2018 World Wrestling Championship. A bronze medal at the 2019 World Championship earned him a ticket to the 2020 Summer Olympics.
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