POWER PACKED
BAJRANG PUNIA, 27 DISCIPLINE: WRESTLING (65kg)
QUALIFYING RUN: Won a bronze medal at the 2019 World Wrestling Championships in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan
ACHIEVEMENTS: Ranked #2, Punia is the only Indian wrestler to have won three World Championship medals. He has at least one gold medal in each of four big international tournaments: the Asian Games, the Asian Championships, the Commonwealth Games and the Commonwealth Championships, making him one of India’s most successful wrestlers
BAJRANG PUNIA has a trophy cabinet laden with medals from every competition he has participated in, starting with the 2013 World Wrestling Championships, where he first shot to fame with a bronze. Given his achievements across a career that is closing in on a decade, it comes as a surprise that Tokyo 2020 will be Punia’s maiden appearance at the Olympics. When Punia is on the mat, there is never a dull moment. His power and stamina have won him the nickname ‘The Tank’ in wrestling circles—he is relentless on the attack and can find scoring opportunities for the entire duration of a six-minute bout. However, his all-out attacking style has also cost him at times, and Punia has had to work on his defence to deflect his rivals’ attacks, particularly those aimed at his legs. Over the past three years, Punia has been one of the busiest wrestlers around, having fought more than 75 bouts (and won more than 65 of them). His weight category is loaded with Olympic and World Champions, many of whom have migrated from either the 61kg or 66kg categories, a fact that Punia is well aware of.
“Why this is considered the most difficult weight category can be gauged from the fact that no wrestler has ever been able to defend his title, neither at the Olympics nor at World Championships. There are no favourites here,” he says.
Reigning world champion Gadzhimurad Rashidov (against whom Punia has never competed), 2018 world champion Takuto Otoguro of Japan, Kazakhstan’s Daulet Niyazbekov (who got the better of Punia in the last World Championships they competed in before Punia settled the score recently), and Rio Olympics bronze medalist Haji Aliyev from Azerbaijan are some of the prominent names that will feature in the fiercely contested men’s 65kg category.
However, what separates Punia from the rest is his big-match pedigree and the consistency he has demonstrated of late. One telling stat that gives Indians hope is that since 2018, Punia has won medals at every major competition he has participated in. At the Olympics, Punia will be as major a contender as any of the other formidable names in the line-up.
Punia’s personal coach Emzarios ‘Shako’ Bentinidis, who has been with him since February 2018, has played a huge role in the wrestler’s recent successes, and the two share a close bond. Not too long ago, Punia’s game was all about strength and power, but Shako has made some important changes to his technique and the results are there for all to see.
Currently, Punia is training in Vladikavkaz, Russia, where some of the best grapplers of the world hone their skills. “This is the best place to train with good sparring partners. Soslan Romanov (the 2016 Olympic champion in 65kg)
trains here, Zaurbek Sidakov (World champion, 74kg), David Baev (World champion, 70kg) and other top wrestlers are here,” says Punia. The move to Russia before the biggest competition of his life was a much-needed shift for Punia, whose preparations were disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. For eight months, he couldn’t travel abroad because of the restrictions and, within the country, he couldn’t find a sparring partner in his weight category. “For the entire duration of this pandemic, my sparring partner was Jitender, who competes in 74kg,” says Punia. “The techniques that I would use against him may or may not work against someone from my weight category. Also, you can’t discount the risk of an injury.” Punia took to wrestling like a fish to water because the sport was in his blood, his father being a wrestler himself. He started grappling at the age of seven and just days before he was to turn 14, he walked into the Chhatrasal Stadium in Delhi’s Model Town in 2008, the same year that Sushil Kumar won India’s second medal in wrestling at the Olympics. But Punia never wanted to be a Sushil Kumar because he was devoted to Yogeshwar Dutt and in 2015, both of them moved out of Chhatrasal Stadium to begin their training at Sonepat’s Sports Authority of India centre. Like his idol did in 2012, Punia would like to win an Olympic medal. It’s the only one missing from an illustrious career. ■
MentorSpeak “THE AMOUNT OF POWER AND STAMINA BAJRANG POSSESSES—I DOUBT THERE IS ANY OTHER FREESTYLE WRESTLER WHO CAN MATCH UP TO HIM IN THAT REGARD. HE HAS THE ABILITY TO COMPETE WITH THE SAME INTENSITY FROM START TO END, WHICH IS VERY RARE IN A SPORT LIKE WRESTLING”
—Yogeshwar Dutt Bronze medalist, 2012 London Games
SAIKHOM MIRABAI CHANU, 27 DISCIPLINE: WEIGHTLIFTING (49kg)
QUALIFYING RUN: Under the rules of the International Weightlifting Federation, the top eight lifters in each of the 14 weight categories are eligible to compete in the Games. Chanu is ranked second in hers. She confirmed her Olympic spot in April after winning the bronze medal in the Asian Championship in Tashkent as she competed in the six mandatory qualifying events
ACHIEVEMENTS: Won a gold medal in the women’s 48kg category at the 2017 World Weightlifting Championships
On April 17, India’s star weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu was on the verge of a most unpleasant moment of déjà vu. At the Asian Championship in Tashkent, the diminutive lifter from Manipur failed to nail a lift in the first two of her three attempts in the snatch. A third ‘no-lift’ would have ended Chanu’s medal hopes, a repeat of the horror show five years ago, at the Rio Olympics, where she crashed out after failing to lift the weight in any of her three attempts in the clean and jerk category. But Chanu is not someone who repeats mistakes. In her final attempt, she lifted 86kg and then went on to create a world record by lifting an incredible 119kg in the clean and jerk. The combined total of 205kg earned her a bronze medal and a ticket to Tokyo. Now, Chanu aims to do even better. “After breaking the world record in Tashkent, I felt that I could do better for India at the Olympics. I don’t know what will happen on the day of the competition, but like any other athlete, I want to win the gold medal,” Chanu tells india today.
Dramatic turnarounds have been part of Chanu’s career right from the start. Born in Nongpok Kakching, a village 45 km south of Manipur’s capital Imphal, she initially wanted to be an archer. Then, in her class VIII text book, she read
a chapter on Kunjarani Devi, another iconic weightlifter from Manipur. That was when Chanu, the youngest of six siblings, set her heart on weightlifting. She got instant support from her mother, who had noticed that Chanu could lift more than her brothers.
She did not let her mother down. In 2014, she shot to national fame by winning a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Three years later, Chanu became world champion in the women’s 48kg category at the World Weightlifting Championships, the first time in two decades that an Indian woman weightlifter had won a gold at the World Championships. This was followed by another gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. In 2019, she finished fourth at the Asian Weightlifting Championships, but bettered her own national record set at the 2019 World Weightlifting Championships with a combined total of 201kg—crossing the 200kg barrier for the first time.
Meanwhile, she had been nursing a lower back problem since 2018—it became so acute in 2020 that she could not even lift half the load she normally could. Along with the back pain, the pandemic struck, a lockdown was announced, and her training stopped. “I could not train during the lockdown. And without training, muscle loss happens very fast. Besides, the confinement to one room at the training centre in Patiala took a toll on my mind too,” she says. In October 2020, Chanu’s coach Vijay Sharma took her to St Louis in the US to train under former weightlifter and renowned coach Aaron Horschig. For this, the Sports Authority of India’s Mission Olympic Cell sanctioned nearly Rs 71 lakh under an initiative to support medal prospects.
The results started showing soon. From not being able to practise two days in a row, she started doing two sessions a day on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, she trained once a day. She also worked on her snatch technique, an area of concern for the Khel Ratna Award winner. In the Asian Championship in April, her first competition in more than 16 months, her 86kg lift in the snatch paled in comparison to the top two medalists, Hou Zhihui and Huihua—both from China—who lifted 96kg and 89-kg respectively. But in the clean and jerk, Chanu erased the world record previously held by Zhihui by lifting a kilogram more. In Tokyo, Chanu will only have to contend with world #1 Zhihui—under Olympic rules, a country can send only one lifter per category.
Further boosting Chanu’s chances is North Korea’s withdrawal from the Olympics—Ri-Song Gum, only the fourth weightlifter to have lifted more than 200kg in Tashkent, will not be in the way of Chanu’s contest with Zhihui. Thailand and Malaysia have also been banned because of multiple doping offences. While Chanu says she is not particularly bothered about her rivals, she does not want to get bogged down by the billion-plus hopes riding on her. “I’m not thinking much about the outcome. There is pressure, but I’m focusing more on the training,” she says. We wish her luck. ■
MentorSpeak “I’M 100 PER CENT CONFIDENT THAT CHANU WILL WIN INDIA A MEDAL IN TOKYO. PERHAPS SHE WILL GET THE GOLD. SHE IS A VERY HARDWORKING AND DISCIPLINED ATHLETE. RECENTLY, SHE UPPED HER GAME TO A DIFFERENT LEVEL. IT’S TIME FOR HER TO TASTE OLYMPIC GLORY”
— Karnam Malleswari Weightlifting bronze medalist, Sydney Olympics, 2000
MANU BHAKER, 19 DISCIPLINE: AIR PISTOL SHOOTING
CATEGORY: 10m and 25m individual; 10m mixed team events
QUALIFYING RUN: Clinched an Olympic berth in the 10m pistol event by finishing fourth in the International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup final in Munich in May 2019. The National Rifle Association of India picked her for the 25m pistol event for consistent performance
ACHIEVEMENTS: World #2 in 10m women’s pistol. Won 10m individual and mixed team events at ISSF World Cup final in China in 2019. Won gold at the Youth Olympics, Commonwealth Games in 10m in 2018
Until age 14, boxing, karate, football, tennis and skating held Manu Bhaker’s interest. Shooting, says the teenager from Goria village in Haryana, was one of the activities she “randomly tried” and ended up liking. “I love competitions,” says Bhaker, who is currently studying for an honours degree in political science at the Lady Shri Ram College in Delhi. “Now, I am in so many competitions that I am not getting time to try other sports.” Her father, Ramkishen, though, says his daughter has taken to archery lately.
In her first Olympics, the 19-year-old will fulfil her hunger for competitions for she is fielded in three events. Is there added pressure? “I don’t think so much. I love this sport and like the events, so I shoot in all of them. I shoot well, so I get selected,” she says.
Bhaker exudes similar confidence at the range. Just two years into the sport, she won gold at an ISSF (International Shooting Sport Federation) World Cup in 2018, making her the youngest Indian shooter to do so. The same year, the then 16-year-old won two Commonwealth Games golds. But at the Asian Games a few months later, Bhaker couldn’t deliver. The setback highlighted the need to protect India’s teenage shooting sensations—four of whom are competing in the Olympics this year— from the burden of expectations.
Three years on, Bhaker is more experienced and composed. In Tokyo, Bhaker will be up against her compatriot Yashaswini Singh Deswal in 10m; Asian Games gold medallist Rahi Sarnobat in 25m, and partner with Saurabh Chaudhary, also 19, for the mixed team event. Given the duo’s stupendous form at the ISSF World Cups—four golds in 2019, a gold and silver in 2021—they are fancied as India’s best bet for a shooting medal.
If Bhaker does well, she could become a poster-girl for Indian shooting, one who is fitness-minded, fashionable and social media-savvy (she has over 41.6k followers on Instagram). For now, though, she’s off social media and switches on her phone only for music. “Hopefully, I’ll get back on social media with some good news,” she says. A billion will be waiting. ■
CoachSpeak “YES, MANU GETS DEJECTED BY SETBACKS BUT SHE ALSO USES THEM TO BOUNCE BACK STRONGER. I AM ALSO ASTONISHED AT HER WILLINGNESS TO CHANGE. SHE IS QUITE OPEN TO EXPERIMENTING WITH THINGS SHE KNOWS WILL HELP HER IMPROVE HER GAME”
— Ronak Pandit Former shooter and coach for pistol team