Tokyo Olympics: Bronze is worth gold to my family, says Bajrang Punia | Tokyo Olympics News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Olympic Games medal-winning wrestlers Ravi Dahiya and Bajrang Punia returned home to a rousing reception on Monday, with hundreds of ecstatic, dancing supporters from Haryana’s Sonepat, adjoining areas and the Chhatrasal Stadium turning up at the Delhi international airport with garlands, bouquets and sweets.
The two made their way from the airport to a felicitation function where they were joined by the gold-medal winning javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, silver medallist weightlifter Mirabai Chanu, bronze-medal winners PV Sindhu and Lovlina Borgohain and the men’s hockey team.

Bajrang, who won a creditable bronze in the men’s freestyle 65kg category despite nursing a serious knee injury, said his mother Om Pyari had been worried about him the night before his medal-playoff bout against Kazakhstan’s Daulet Niyazbekov.

“After I lost in the semifinal against Azerbaijan’s Haji Aliyev, I went to sleep early in my room as I didn’t feel like talking to anyone. Later, I called up home and spoke to my mother. She said, ‘I am more worried about your knee injury and not wrestling. Winning and losing is part of the game. You should first protect your knee, that’s more important to me’. All parents want their kids to win a medal. They said this bronze is worth a gold to us because they knew about my injury and how it kept me away from the mat for 20-25 days in Russia,” Bajrang said.

The reigning CWG and Asian Games champion injured himself during the semifinals of the Ali Aliyev invitational tournament in Moscow on June 25. The injury threatened to derail his Olympics campaign and pushed Bajrang out of the mat for nearly three weeks. However, against the advice of his coaching staff, Bajrang removed the brace on his right knee for the bronze playoff.
“The brace was given by the physio because there was pain in the knee. For the first few bouts in Tokyo, I didn’t take risks but I wasn’t comfortable competing with that brace on. It was restricting my movement. So for the medal match, I decided I wouldn’t wear it. I told my coaches, ‘If there is more injury, we will see to it later but if I don’t win bronze, then what?’

“So, for me, the medal mattered the most. I told my coaches and physio, ‘I am not wearing it, if it (my injury) worsens, let it be’. I am happy to have won the bronze.”

Bajrang said he wasn’t sure about continuing with personal coach Shako Shako Bentinidis. While he wouldn’t share details, sources aay there will be a discussion soon on the Georgian’s continuance. Bajrang is keeping next year’s CWG, Asian Games and World Championships in mind, with the eventual focus being on Paris 2024. “I haven’t thought about the future. Right now, we are talking about what we could have done better in Tokyo and improve on that. I’ll make a decision soon.”