NANDINI NAGAR (GONDA): Not many wrestlers can achieve the feats which Deepak Punia (86kg) achieved when he burst onto the scene. He clinched medals at the cadet, junior and senior World Championships with the first two being gold. 2019 turned out to be a breakthrough year for him as he became the first Indian wrestler in 18 years to win the junior World Championships gold. He followed it up with a silver at the senior worlds and that medal also helped him qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. A favourite to win the medal at the Games, Punia missed out on a bronze by a whisker.
Punia then went on to win medals at the Yasar Dogu Ranking Series and continental championships in 2022 and continued the winning streak by bagging a gold and a silver at the 2023 Commonwealth and Asian Games respectively. Punia, however, hit a prolonged lean patch the very next year and even failed to qualify for the 2024 Paris Games. The protest launched by renowned wrestlers against former Wrestling Federation of India president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh a year before did not help his cause either. He attempted to make a comeback last year and won a silver medal each at the Senior Asian Championships and Ulaanbaatar Open Ranking Series but a medal at the World Championships eluded him.
With him turning 27 on May 19, the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games could turn out to be his last. What added to his woes was his inability to compete at the senior national championships, Federation Cup and a few other specified events made mandatory by the WFI to qualify for the national camps. The federation's eligibility criteria also meant he was rendered ineligible for the selection trials held to pick the national team for the 2026 Asian Championships held in March.
With time running out, Punia was left with no option than to compete at the Senior Open Ranking Tournament, which began at the Nandini Nagar, Gonda (Uttar Pradesh) on Sunday and bring himself back into contention for a place in the Indian team. Incidentally, the same tournament was halted midway at the same venue three years ago following wrestlers' protest of which Punia was also a part.
Competing in the 92kg weight category, Punia won four bouts to progress into the final and assure himself of a medal. It could pave the way for return of the 2019 worlds silver medallist into the national team as the medallists from the event would gain eligibility to compete at the selection trials scheduled to pick the teams for the 2026 World Championships and Commonwealth Championships.
His opponents were no match for him as Punia won the first bout 10-0 beating Haryana's Rahul. Punia then outclassed Sachin Kumar, also from Haryana, 11-0 before winning the next bout as his next opponent Abhishek (Delhi) got injured. Haryana's Rahul Hooda was next in the line and Punia pinned him to storm into the semifinal. The senior wrestler then overwhelmed Raja from Haryana 11-0 to make it to the summit clash.
