Arrogance is the last trait a sportsman should exude. However, when arrogance takes over a sportsperson’s mind, it has dire repercussions. A classic case of this was seen on Sunday (10th March) when wrestler Bajrang Punia was eliminated from the Paris Olympics qualification race. For the last few months, Punia has been engaged in everything other than wrestling. The star wrestler was a prominent face of the Wrestlers’ protest last year against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) and its former Chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Sharma accusing him of sexual harassment.
As reported earlier, Punia suffered a crushing 1-9 defeat against Rohit Kumar in the men’s freestyle 65kg semifinal. Earlier, Punia had barely managed to avoid elimination in the opening bout itself. He won his first bout against Ravinder (3-3 on criteria) after the latter had conceded a caution point in the bout.
Notably, the ongoing selection trials are being organised by the IOA ad-hoc panel. The winners at the ongoing selection trials will get the opportunity to compete at the Asian and World Olympic Qualifiers. So far, India has earned only one quota for the Paris Games through Antim Panghal (women’s 53kg).
From seeking exemption from trials to losing by a huge 1-9 margin, Bajrang Punia’s performance dwindles
It is pertinent to mention here that Punia for the last few months has been training in Russia on his own money. However, his defeat against Kumar by a huge margin suggests that the wrestler has failed to regain fitness since he has largely been engaged in protest, not practice.
Frustrated over his elimination, Punia left the Sports Authority of India (SAI) Centre in haste. Moreover, the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) officials tried to collect the sample for a dope test, however, the wrestler did not stay back even for a third-fourth place bout.
It is worth noting that wrestler Rohit Kumar who defeated Bajrang Punia lost to Sujeet Kalakal in the final match. Interestingly, Kalakal contested the decision to grant Punia direct access to the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games without trials in court last year. However, he lost the case.
In July last year, the Delhi High Court dismissed the plea filed by ace wrestlers Antim Panghal and Sujeet Kalakal. The plea had challenged the exemption granted to wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat which allowed their direct entry into the Asian Games. In an interview last year, wrestlers Vishal Kaliraman and Antim Panghal said that while she was working hard and training, wrestlers like Vinesh Phogat were busy in protests while raising questions over ‘trial-free entry to Phogat and Punia in the Asian Games.
Justice Subramonium Prasad claimed that the unanimous decision of the ad-hoc committee was not arbitrary or perverse. Claiming that the two athletes are among the top 10 wrestlers in the world, it is not arbitrary to classify them as ‘elite athletes’.
Months later, Iranian Rahman Amouzadkhalili defeated wrestler Bajrang Punia by a significant 8-1 margin in the Asian Games semi-finals raising questions over the Indian wrestler’s preparedness for the crucial tournament.
In the bronze medal match at the Asian Games in Hangzhou in October 2023, India’s Bajrang Punia was defeated by Japan’s Kaiki Yamaguchi 10-0 owing to technical superiority. The Indian wrestler was allowed to represent his country in the Asian Games without any tryouts, and his 10-0 defeat dashed India’s bronze medal hopes.
The Indian Olympic Association’s (IOA) ad-hoc committee granted exemptions to Punia and Phogat from the trials for the men’s freestyle 65 kg and women’s 53 kg categories. This decision was met with stiff opposition from coaches, and current and former athletes.
On the one hand, the wrestler is alleged to have regularly sought exemptions from trials for important championships; on the other hand, his disappointing showing demonstrates his critics’ point that Punia was seeking exemptions out of fear of failing to win the qualifiers. The wrestler’s alleged tantrums, such as not playing the match for third place or staying back for a dope test, highlight why he was unwilling to engage in the trials against wrestlers who were constantly practising rather than engaging in protests and politics.
Bajrang Punia was a member of the Wrestlers group that protested against the then WFI head Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. In April 2023, they went to Jantar Mantar and sought a probe into charges of sexual harassment of female wrestlers by Bharatiya Janta Party MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh while serving as head of the Wrestling Federation of India. Later, the Delhi Police filed two FIRs against Singh.
While the protesting wrestlers had claimed that their protest had nothing to do with politics, it was seen that several Congress leaders including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Deepender Hooda and former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda assured absolute support to them. In May last year, Brij Bhushan Singh had claimed that a “conspiracy” was hatched against him by Deepender Hooda and Bajrang Punia.
Moreover, several disparaging slogans were raised during the wrestlers’ protests last year. During the protests, slogans such as ‘Modi Teri Kabar Khudegi’ and anti-India ‘Azadi’ were reportedly raised.
It should not be forgotten that similar outrageous slogans have been used by protestors in several previous protests. Azadi slogans are commonly used at anti-CAA protests, Shaheen Bagh protests, farmers’ protests, and other JNU protests.
As the protesting wrestlers were continuously accused of seeking exemptions from trials, hundreds of junior wrestlers gathered at Jantar Mantar on 3rd January this year to express their discontent with losing a critical year in their careers.
The protest was aimed at rebel Indian wrestlers Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat, and Bajrang Punia, whom the junior wrestlers blamed for ruining a year of their lives. As we reported earlier, the protesting wrestlers raised slogans against Malik, Phogat, and Punia. Junior wrestlers, like Antim Panghal, have consistently asserted that only the best wrestlers from India should represent the country in the world championships including the Olympics and that this should be determined by selection trials rather than offering trial exemptions to certain wrestlers.
Bajrang Punia’s defeat in trials suggests that the wrestler should redirect his focus from protests and politics to practice. Moreover, given his recent tantrums, he also needs to work on his attitude as a sportsman. Fortunately, Punia had to compete in trials rather than being granted an exemption this time; otherwise, he could have repeated his previous devastating defeats at the World Olympic qualifiers.
