Hyderabad: India's top freestyle wrestler and a genuine gold medal prospect at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Bajrang Punia in an exclusive interview with ETV Bharat insisted that he wants to imitate Abhinav Bindra's 2008 Summer Olympics golden moment in the Tokyo Games.
Going into the Tokyo Games, Punia is the biggest hope for India for their second individual Olympic gold medal.
Noticeably, India, despite having the population of one billion, has just one yellow metal in its cabinet when it comes to Olympics and ever since Bindra clinched country's first individual Olympic gold medal in shooting at Beijing 2008, the second-most populous country is eagerly waiting for its second gold medal.
For many it may be a heavy burden to fulfil the expectation of an entire country, but for Punia it is a matter of great pride.
"I feel grateful and satisfied that my countrymen expect me to do bring them Olympic glory. Because their expectation means they believe in me. And I will try everything to replicate what Abhinav Bindra did in 2008 Summer Games," Punia said.
Punia is currently placed at the second spot in world rankings in 65 kg category as most of the sporting events including Tokyo Olympics have been either suspended or deferred in the wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Talking about the virus shut down, Punia said he is following every instruction and directions given by the Government of India and the doctors during the lockdown.
"I have not gone outside of the house ever since lockdown has been enforced. I am training from home and I am not going outside because every wrestling tournament has been cancelled," Punia said.
The Asian and Commonwealth gold medallist also said that his training is going fine. However, he rued the absence of having a partner to train with.
"My training is going fine, I am working on my weaknesses. I just miss having a partner to train with. Because I am training at home and not at camps, so I do not have a partner. Other than that, everything is fine. I have even ordered a few things to improve my training."
Talking about his favourite moment on the mat, the Khel Ratna of India said, "I was really pleased with myself after I managed to bag my first medal in the World Championship in 2013 as I was just barely 18 or 19 years old then."
When asked about the lowest point of his career, Punia said, "I will never forget my defeat in the 2015 Wrestling championship when I was outclassed by my opponent in the last 12 seconds."
When asked about his father's struggle to make him an international athlete, the 26-year-old soft-spoken wrestler said, "My parents have done a lot for me. They are my first teacher. I come from a very normal family, my father didn't have any job, he was a farmer. But despite that every time I needed something, he used to get that for me."
Punia claimed that he is taking the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics in a positive way. However, the Padma Shri awardee also clarified that he was ready if the Olympics would have taken place according to the schedule.
Punia also insisted that we should first defeat coronavirus and then think about the Olympics or sports.
