CHENNAI: Concentration is not something athletes can afford to lose. With more than a billion hopes resting on his shoulders to help India earn their first-ever Olympic gold in wrestling, medal hope Bajrang Punia is bound to feel the pressure.
With the Olympics less than five months away, Bajrang’s foreign coach, Shako Bentinidis, is taking no chances and has turned towards Sadhguru’s meditation technique to improve his concentration.
“Bajrang is a world-class wrestler but tends to lose concentration during bouts, conceding points,” Bentinidis said from Greece.
“During our training camp in Azerbaijan, I started teaching him meditation. He practises Isha Kriya meditation taught by Sadhguru every day before the morning and evening training sessions. He also meditates during spare time and it has started reflecting in his performance. He has become a lot calmer and composed now,” said the Greek-born Georgian coach, who is learning this form of meditation for the last two years.
Bajrang and 74kg weight category wrestler Jitender headed to Azerbaijan soon after pocketing a 65kg gold in the Rome Ranking Series last month.
The duo underwent a three-week training programme in the country under the guidance of Bentinidis ahead of the Asian Championships scheduled in New Delhi from February 18 to 23.
Another aspect the coach is trying to improve is his ward’s leg defence. “He might have won the gold in Rome but I am not satisfied. With only five months remaining for the Games, he needs to work on those aspects to fulfil the dreams of crores of Indians.”The Haryana wrestler had already qualified for the Tokyo Games after bagging the bronze in the World Championships held in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan in September last year.