The Sports Authority of India (SAI) has requested Bajrang Punia, an Olympic medalist wrestler, to participate in the upcoming trials for the World Championships. Alternatively, he can provide a fitness certificate if he wants to be exempted from the evaluation scheduled this week in Patiala.
Despite the World Championships trials taking place on August 25 and 26, Punia is considering skipping these trials and instead opting for training at an overseas location as part of his preparation for the Asian Games in Hangzhou, starting on September 23.
Bajrang Punia, who was one of six wrestlers who protested against the outgoing Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh at Jantar Mantar, along with Deepak Punia, a gold medalist at the Commonwealth Games in the 86kg category, are reluctant to participate in the World Championships scheduled in Belgrade from September 16. They prefer an extended training period to prepare for the Asian Games.
Bajrang has submitted a proposal to conduct his training in Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan, from August 21 to September 28. Meanwhile, Deepak is seeking to train in Khasavyurt, Russia, for a five-week period, starting from August 23 and extending until September 28, all in preparation for the Asian Games.
“Yes, we have asked Bajrang why he is skipping the World Championships trials. He said he wants to prepare for the Asian Games and train abroad until then. But we asked him to appear for the trials on August 25 and 26 and leave for a training camp abroad on August 27,” said a SAI official, speaking anonymously to PTI on Monday.
The World Championships serves as the first qualification tournament for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, and SAI is unhappy that two top wrestlers from the country want to skip the trials and the prestigious event.
Bajrang, a 65kg wrestler who won bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, has demanded the presence of physiotherapist Anuj Gupta, personal coach Sujeet Maan, strength and conditioning expert Kaazi Kiron Mustafa Hasan, and sparring partner Jitender Kinha during his training. Deepak, on the other hand, has requested the services of coach Kamal Malikov and physiotherapist Shubham Gupta for his training sessions.
SAI wants the two wrestlers to compete in the World Championships trials to first demonstrate their fitness. After that, they are willing to consider their training proposals abroad.
“We have also asked Bajrang to provide his fitness certificate if he intends to skip the trials altogether. We have also received his request for his support staff. The matter is currently with the MOC (Mission Olympic Cell), and they will make a decision once they receive a proper response from Bajrang,” said the SAI source.
Bajrang and his sparring partner Kinha recently returned from Kyrgyzstan after a long training period.
Bajrang, along with Asian Games gold medalist Vinesh Phogat and Olympic medalist Sakshi Malik, had requested foreign training opportunities to regain their competitive form after spending nearly two months protesting at Jantar Mantar against Brij Bhushan.
All six wrestlers who protested at Jantar Mantar were earlier exempted from the trials for the Asian Games on July 22-23. This led to major opposition from fellow wrestlers who disagreed with the special treatment given to them.