Wrestler Bajrang Punia undergoes MRI scan

Express News Service

CHENNAI: More than a week following his return to the country after winning a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics, wrestler Bajrang Punia finally had an MRI scan done on his injured right knee. The report is expected on Wednesday, which eventually will help the 65kg wrestler in drawing up future plans.

“I don’t have any problem in walking but the pain is there. The MRI scan was done today (Tuesday) and I am awaiting the report,” the 27-year-old Haryana wrestler told this daily from Sonepat. The three-time world medallist sustained the injury during a local tournament in Russia in June and compete in the Olympics with it.

Bajrang had admitted that he was advised by his doctor to return home for further examination, treatment and rehabilitation but he decided to carry on with the Games round the corner. Despite the injury, he managed to win three bouts before losing the semifinal. He, however, outclassed his Kazakh opponent Daulet Niyazbekov 8-0 to bag bronze in his maiden Olympics.

With the marquee event over, he now doesn’t want to rush his return and wants to focus on recovery. The next international event for the Indian wrestlers is the World Championships scheduled in Oslo, Norway from October 2 to 10 and Bajrang will compete in it only if he is fully fit. “The participation (in worlds) depends on the report,” he added.

The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) is organising selection trials on August 31 at the IG Stadium in New Delhi to pick the team for the event. Medal winners of the 2020 Senior National Championship are eligible to participate in the trials. As per the WFI, trials will be held in all 10 weight categories in freestyle, Greco-Roman and women’s wrestling.

Coach Shako’s future uncertain

Meanwhile, Bajrang’s coach Shako Bentinidis is expected to fly out of the country in a day or two. The Georgian reached the country along with his ward from Tokyo expecting a contract extension and is currently based in Sonepat. The previous contract was till the Olympics. Recently, the federation has said that it will extend foreign coaches’ contracts after taking feedbacks from the respective wrestlers.

It is learnt the WFI has told wrestlers that contracts will not be extended immediately and it will take at least a month before finalising the issue. This might be forcing Shako to leave the country as he will not get a monthly contractual amount during this period and has to bear all the expenses if he decides to stay back in the country.