Tokyo Olympian wrestlers Deepak Punia aims big with change in technique and weight category

“Yes, I have changed my category at the moment. I will play in this category till the World Championships and return to 86 kg after that. Right now, I aim to be on the mat, no matter what category I play. So, it’s just preparation for the World Championships,” Deepak said.

Returning to the mat after the Olympic qualifiers last year, Deepak triumphed in the trials, booking his berth for the upcoming Asian Championships. Deepak started the trials with a big win against Aryan, winning 10-0. His next opponent in the group stage, Abhishek gave a walkover to him. Similarly, his opponent in the semi-final didn’t show up, handing an easy route for him till the final.

In the final, Deepak faced Sachin of Haryana and took an early lead of 4-0. Sachin took him down once in the second period to make it 2-4, but Deepak used his experience to score four more points and win 8-2 in the final.

After failing to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics in a bizarre situation where he missed the first qualifiers due to a flight delay and was knocked out in the second one, this will be the first major tournament for him.

Talking about his Paris Olympics miss, Deepak said, “The flight delay was not in my hands. It happened due to a natural disaster, and I have made peace with missing the Paris Olympics and have moved on from it.”

Deepak suffered a muscle tear in his thigh and recovered before returning to the mat. “I had a muscle tear in my thigh and had to undergo surgery. I took a good three to four months of rehabilitation and recovery to come back,” he said.

With the Asian Championships around the corner, Deepak wants to focus on positive things and work on his endurance. “I have changed my wrestling technique a bit and worked on my endurance. Also, I have started focusing on the positive things, so I enter a big tournament like Asian C’ships with a positive mindset,” Deepak concluded.

Aman misses trials

Among Paris Olympians, 57kg bronze medalist Aman Sehrawat missed the trials at the last moment due to muscle pull and ‘digestive issues’.
“He was set to play in the trials, but some last-moment issues with muscles prevented him from doing so. He was doing well in the practice,” said Deepak on Aman’s absence. Both wrestlers train at the famous Chhatrasal Stadium in Delhi.

Antim, Reetika book berths

In the women’s 53 kg, Olympian Antim Panghal booked her berth for the tournament as only two other wrestlers turned up for the trials. Antim was dominant in both her wins, defeating Swati Shinde (6-0) of Maharashtra and Hinaben (5-0) of Gujarat by pinning them.

“This is my first competition after the Paris Olympics. I fought one dangal and one state championship but this is my first national competition,” said Antim.

Similarly, Reetika Hooda dominated in the 76 kg category to book her berth for the tournament. The wrestler from Rohtak faced Priya Malik and Kiran in the two bouts she fought.

Last year at the Nationals in Bengaluru, Reetika had lost to Priya Malik, but she got her revenge this time, defeating her 6-0. Then, she defeated Kiran 4-2 to finalize her berth for the Asian Championships.

The Indian team of thirty wrestlers (ten in women’s, ten in men’s freestyle, and ten in Greco-Roman) will leave for the Asian Championships starting from 25th March in Amman, Jordan, next week.

Squad: (Women): 50 kg: Ankush, 53 kg: Antim Panghal, 55 kg: Nishu, 57 kg: Neha Sharma, 59 kg: Muskan, 62 kg: Manisha, 65 kg: Monika, 68 kg: Mansi Lathar,72 kg: Jyoti Berwal, 76 kg: Reetika.

(Men’s freestyle): 57 kg: Chirag, 61 kg: Udit, 65 kg: Sujit, 70 kg: Vishal Kaliraman, 74 kg: Jaideep, 79 kg: Chanderamohan, 86 kg: Mukul Dahiya, 92 kg: Deepak Punia, 97 kg: Jointy Kumar, 125 kg: Dinesh.

(Greco Roman): 55 kg: Nitin, 60 kg: Sumit, 63 kg: Umesh, 67 kg: Neeraj, 72 kg: Kuldeep Malik, 77 kg: Sagar, 82 kg: Rahul, 87 kg: Sunil Kumar, 97 kg: Nitesh, 130 kg: Prem