Bajrang Punia (born 26 February 1994) is an Indian

freestyle wrestler Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling originated from Great Britain and the United States. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. American high school and men's college wrestling i ...

, who competes in the 65-kg weight category. At the

2020 Tokyo Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

, Punia won a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

by defeating Kazakhstan's Daulet Niyazbekov with a wide 8-0 margin. Punia is the only Indian wrestler to win 4 medals at the World Wrestling Championships.

Early life and background

Punia was born in

Khudan Khudan is a village located in Jhajjar district in the Indian state of Haryana. Demographics In 2011 the population was 4793. Religion Majority of the residents are Hindu, with Jats being the dominant social group. There is a temple of ''Swa ...

, Jhajjar, 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 area. 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 enrolled him in a local mud wrestling school. Punia started to skip school to go to wrestling practice. He went to Chattarsal Stadium in 2008 where he was trained by Ramphal Mann. In 2015, his family moved to Sonepat so that he could attend a regional center of

Sports Authority of India The Sports Authority of India (SAI) is the apex national sports body of India, established in 1982 by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports of Government of India for the development of sports in India. SAI has 2 Sports Academic institution ...

. Currently, he works in the Indian Railways on the post of Gazetted officer OSD Sports. Punia enjoys seeking out knowledge of his village elders. Punia is married to fellow wrestler

Sangeeta Phogat The Phogat sisters are six sisters from Haryana, India, all of whom are wrestlers. In order of their birth, they are Geeta, Babita, Priyanka, Ritu, Vinesh, and Sangeeta. While Geeta, Babita, Ritu, and Sangeeta are daughters of former wrestl ...

Career

2013 Asian Wrestling Championships The 2013 Asian Wrestling Championships were held at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex in New Delhi, India. The event took place from 18 to 22 April 2013. Medal table Team ranking Medal summary Men's freestyle Men's Greco-Roman Women' ...

In New Delhi, India, in the semi-final bout, Bajrang lost 3-1 to

Hwang Ryong-hak Hwang Ryong-hak is a North Korean wrestler who won the gold medal in the 66 kg division in the 2013 Asian Wrestling Championships by defeating Yang Jae-Hoon of South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a c ...

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 Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, 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 The 2013 World Wrestling Championships was the 9th edition of World Wrestling Championships of combined events and were held from September 16 to 22 in Budapest, Hungary. Medal table Team ranking Medal summary Men's freestyle Men's Greco- ...

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 Enkhsaikhany Nyam-Ochir ( Mongolian: Энхсайханы Ням-Очир) is a Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the n ...

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

and earned a walkover. His next opponent was

Ivan Guidea Ivan Guidea (born 12 May 1988) is a Romanian freestyle wrestler Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling originated from Great Britain and the United States. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the ...

of Romania, and with a 10-3 win over the Romanian, Bajrang earned a spot in the bronze medal bout.

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

In Glasgow, Scotland, he won the

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

in the men's freestyle 61 kg category, after losing 1-4 to

David Tremblay David Tremblay (born September 18, 1987 in Windsor, Ontario) is a male freestyle wrestler from Canada. In 2011 Tremblay won the gold medal at the Pan American Qualification tournament and thus qualified to compete at the 2012 Summer Olympics. In ...

of Canada. In the Round of 16, Bajrang faced

Sasha Madyarchyk Sasha Madyarchyk is an English wrestler who won a bronze medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in the Men's 60 kg wrestling event. See also *England at the 2010 Commonwealth Games England were represented at the 2010 Commonwealth Games b ...

of England and beat him 4-0. He face
Marno Plaatjies
of South Africa in the quarter-finals and won 4-1. The Nigerian wrestler,

Amas Daniel Amas Daniel (born 26 April 1990) is a Nigerian freestyle wrestler. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, he competed in the Wrestling at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle 65 kg, Men’s freestyle -65 kg. In 2021, he competed at the 2021 Afr ...

, was his opponent in the semi-finals and overcame him in a 3-1 score line.

2014 Asian Games The 2014 Asian Games ( ko, 2014년 아시아 경기대회/2014년 아시안 게임, Icheon sip-sa nyeon Asia gyeonggi daehoe/Icheon sip-sa nyeon Asian Geim), officially known as the 17th Asian Games ( ko, 제17회 아시아 경기대회/제17회 ...

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

4-1 in the semi-finals.

2014 Asian Wrestling Championships The 2014 Asian Wrestling Championships was held at the Daulet Sport Complex in Astana, Kazakhstan. The event took place from April 23 to April 27, 2014. Medal table Team ranking Medal summary Men's freestyle Men's Greco-Roman Women's ...

In Astana, Kazakhstan, Bajrang won the silver medal in the men's freestyle 61 kg category, losing 0-4 to

Masoud Esmaeilpour Masoud Esmaeilpour Jouybari ( fa, مسعود اسماعیل‌پور جویباری, born 6 August 1988 in Jouybar) is an Iranian wrestler, Asian champion and multiple medalist at the world championships in the lightweight freestyle. He repres ...

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

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 The 2015 UWW World Wrestling Championships were the 12th edition of World Wrestling Championships of combined events and was held from September 7 to 12 in Las Vegas, United States. Medal table Team ranking Medal summary Men's freestyle M ...

Unlike his fellow

Narsingh Yadav Narsingh Pancham Yadav (born 6 August 1989) is an Indian wrestler. At the 2010 Commonwealth Games, he won the gold medal in the men's freestyle 74 kg category. He was banned for 4 years and barred from the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro ...

, 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 Reece Weslee Humphrey (born July 31, 1986, in Bloomington, Indiana) is retired American freestyle wrestler who competed for the men's freestyle 60 kg at the World Wrestling Championships 2013 in Budapest, Hungary. He was eliminated in the quar ...

of the

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

whom he beat 6-0 easily. The second repêchage opponent was

Beka Lomtadze Beka Lomtadze (born November 23, 1991) is a Georgian freestyle wrestler competing in the 61 kg division. Lomtadze began wrestling at the age of 13 in his home country of Georgia. He won gold medal in 2019 world championships in Nur-Sultan ...

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 Vasyl Shuptar (born January 27, 1991, in Lviv) is a Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographi ...

of Ukraine, scoring the last point.

Asian Wrestling Championship 2017

In 2017 May, he won a gold medal at the

Asian Wrestling Championship Asian Wrestling Championships is the Wrestling Asian Championship organized by the Asian Associated Wrestling Committee (AAWC). The men's tournament began in 1979 and The women's tournament was first staged in 1996, and it has been held every year. ...

held in 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 The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

In Gold Coast, Australia, he won the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

in the men's freestyle 65 kg category. He overcame Kane Charig of Wales by Technical Superiority to clinch the gold.

2018 Asian Games The 2018 Asian Games ( id, Pesta Olahraga Asia 2018 or ''Asian Games 2018''), officially known as the 18th Asian Games and also known as Jakarta-Palembang 2018 or Indonesia 2018, was a Asia, continental multi-sport event that was held from 18 A ...

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 The 2018 World Wrestling Championships were the 15th edition of World Wrestling Championships of combined events and were held from 20 to 28 October in Budapest, Hungary. Russia claimed 10 gold medals, 1 silver medal and 2 bronze medals, its best ...

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 The 2019 World Wrestling Championships were held in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan from 14 September to 22 September 2019. The tournament served as qualification for the 2020 Summer Olympics, the top six wrestlers from each category earned their NOCs a qu ...

Bajrang won Bronze for the second time at a World Championship, 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 65 kg freestyle category at the Ranking Series.

Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series 2021 The Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series 2021 was a wrestling event held in Ostia, Rome, Italy between 4 and 7 of March 2021. The first United World Wrestling United World Wrestling (UWW) is the international governing body for the sport of amat ...

In 2021, he won the gold medal in the 65 kg event at the

Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series 2021 The Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series 2021 was a wrestling event held in Ostia, Rome, Italy between 4 and 7 of March 2021. The first United World Wrestling United World Wrestling (UWW) is the international governing body for the sport of amat ...

held in Rome, Italy.

2021 Asian Wrestling Championships The 2021 Asian Wrestling Championships took place from 13 April to 18 April in Almaty, Kazakhstan. It was held at the same venue as the 2021 Asian Wrestling Olympic Qualification Tournament. This event was the 34th edition of the Asian Wrestling C ...

He clinched a silver medal at the

2021 Asian Wrestling Championships The 2021 Asian Wrestling Championships took place from 13 April to 18 April in Almaty, Kazakhstan. It was held at the same venue as the 2021 Asian Wrestling Olympic Qualification Tournament. This event was the 34th edition of the Asian Wrestling C ...

after losing to

Takuto Otoguro is a Japanese freestyle wrestler who competes at 65 kilograms. At the 2020 Summer Olympics, Otoguro claimed the gold medal after beating the likes of defending World Champion Gadzhimurad Rashidov and three-time World Champion Haji Aliyev. A C ...

in the final.

2020 Tokyo Olympics

On 6 August 2021, he won the pre-quarterfinal match in 65 kg category in

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

against Ernazar Akmataliev and his quarter-final match against Morteza Ghiasi Cheka. In the bronze medal match he defeated the Kazakhstani wrestler Daulet Niyazbekov, winning by a margin of 8-0. Bajrang and other Indian Olympians were featured in a

can Can may refer to: Containers * Aluminum can * Drink can * Oil can * Steel and tin cans * Trash can * Petrol can * Metal can (disambiguation) Music * Can (band), West Germany, 1968 ** ''Can'' (album), 1979 * Can (South Korean band) Other * C ...

by the Indian soft drink manufacturer, Thums Up

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England bet ...

Bajrang Punia clinched the gold medal with a dominating win over Canada’s Lachlan McNeil in the 65kg final bout at the

2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England bet ...

International competitions

World Championship

U23 World Championship

Asian Games

Commonwealth Games

Asian Wrestling Championship

Olympics

Record against opponents

Awards

Arjuna Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjuna, one ...

, 2015 * Padma Shri Award, 2019 *

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna The Khel Ratna Award (), officially known as the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award ( Major Dhyan Chand Sport Jewel Award), is the highest sporting honour of India. It is awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Governm ...

award, 2019 * FICCI India Sports Award 2020 ;For winning the bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics * from the Government of India. * from the Government of Haryana. * from the Board of Control for Cricket in India * from the Indian Olympic Association

References

External links

FILA profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Punia, Bajrang Living people Indian male sport wrestlers 1994 births Sport wrestlers from Haryana People from Jhajjar Wrestlers at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Wrestlers at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Wrestlers at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Wrestlers at the 2014 Asian Games Asian Games medalists in wrestling World Wrestling Championships medalists Asian Games gold medalists for India Asian Games silver medalists for India Commonwealth Games gold medallists for India Commonwealth Games silver medallists for India Commonwealth Games medallists in wrestling Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games Wrestlers at the 2018 Asian Games Medalists at the 2018 Asian Games Recipients of the Padma Shri in sports Recipients of the Khel Ratna Award Recipients of the Arjuna Award Asian Wrestling Championships medalists Wrestlers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic wrestlers of India Olympic bronze medalists for India Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in wrestling