CHENNAI: On the eve of janata curfew called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 21, star wrestler Bajrang Punia was at his home in Sonepat cooking delicacies for his family and friends on Saturday.
Another Indian wrestler, Jitender Kumar (74kg) was also at his place helping the 65kg wrestler.
A forced break due to the coronavirus outbreak has given the 2019 World medallist an opportunity to serve his family by cooking their favourite dishes.
“I love cooking. Given the situation, I now have enough time to do it for my family and friends. My parents are vegetarian so I keep that in mind while cooking for them. I eat non-vegetarian dishes also so that’s not an issue for me. The free time has also given me an opportunity to spend time with my brother’s children,” the 26-year-old wrestler told this daily. It all started when Bajrang left his home in Khudan village of Jhajjar district to pursue wrestling.
“I was around 10 or 11 years old when I left home. During my stay in akhara, I learnt cooking. Gradually, I developed a liking for it.” The family had moved to Sonepat in 2015.
Bajrang, who works with the Railways as an officer on special duty, decided to donate his six-month salary to fight the pandemic on Monday.
“COVID-19 is a big challenge for the world. We need to tackle it first then only we can think about any sporting activity. Postponement of the quadrennial event is a big disappointment for the athletes but situations are beyond our control at the moment. The priority should be the protection of the people and finding a cure.”
Despite Wrestling Federation of India deciding to suspend its camp for the men wrestlers around a fortnight ago, Bajrang had preferred to stay at the SAI Centre in Sonepat along with Jitender and foreign coach Shako Bentinidis. The trio, however, was forced to change the plan with the government taking unprecedented steps including a complete lockdown.
“It’s difficult to train alone. You need to practise with wrestlers in different weight categories but that was out of question as the camp was suspended. I don’t have gym at home but we do physical workouts to stay in best shape.”