Tokyo Olympics: ‘Fitness was not an issue for a confident Bajrang Punia’ | Tokyo Olympics News – Times of India

By Sakshi Malik
There was very good reason for us to disrupt our scheduled training.
I was sure that both Bajrang Punia and Neeraj Chopra would come back with medals and lift India’s tally past the previous best of six achieved in London 2012. My confidence in Bajrang stemmed from the fact that he had beaten the Kazakh wrestler only recently. And I believed that he would be more aggressive from the start of the medal bout.
A lot of people have been saying that Bajrang was sending a message in not wearing a knee brace when he walked on to the mat for the bronze medal match. I believe that he did not have a fitness issue at all. I think he was very confident of winning the medal and he was only wearing that when he came to wrestle.

I could see that he had dealt with the overnight wait for the medal match well. If he was anxious, it was not evident. If there was pressure that he faced through the night, he did well to not let it show on his face when he took centre-stage. There was only a sense of calm assurance and an awareness of what was needed to be done to get the bronze.
Bajrang won quite comfortably and the excitement in our akhara kept increasing with his lead. All the young ones stopped training and were watching the bout, willing Bajrang to win. His victory, leading to India’s second medal in wrestling after the silver for Ravi Kumar Dahiya, was welcome.
Even before the resounding applause for Bajrang ended, our attention shifted to Neeraj Chopra’s final in the javelin throw event. His first throw was accompanied by a roar from those around me. And it was clear after the first round that a medal for Neeraj was certain. When he threw longer, a louder cheer went up and soon enough, the celebrations started.

PTI Photo
For the first time, there will be no regrets at having to call off a training session well before completion. Bajrang Punia and Neeraj Chopra had sparked celebrations across the country, and it was inevitable that we gave up all plans of going through training and joined the people of India in basking in the magic of the golden hour.
It would have been lovely if golfer Aditi Ashok had been able to win a medal earlier in the day. I admit I do not know the sport, let alone play it, but I must say that she did wonderfully well for someone ranked 200 to rub shoulders with the best in the business and give them a hard run for their money. To her credit, she made all of us track her through the morning and wish well for her.
The Olympic Games has drawn to a close. And India comes home with seven medals, with some very good performances by several of our athletes. Of course, I would have loved to see us go past the 10-medal mark and rise in the medals’ tally but there were some disappointments too. Overall, we have made progress and will get better but, for now, let us celebrate.
(Wrestler Sakshi Malik is a bronze medallist from the 2016 Rio Olympics)