Bajrang Punia

Some Lesser Known Facts About Bajrang Punia

• According to Bajrang Punia, he started practising wrestling when he was seven years old. His father encouraged him to pursue wrestling as a career. As he had a good athletic physique, he wished to participate in sports but his family did not have enough money to enrol him in sports academies for training. This led him to participate in free sports like Wrestling and Kabaddi.

• Bajrang’s father and elder brother were once well-known wrestlers, who enrolled him in a local wrestling school. To practice wrestling, Bajrang used to skip school. In 2008, he joined the Chattarsal Stadium, where he received his wrestling training from Ramphal Mann.

• In 2013, Bajrang participated in the Asian Wrestling Championships, which was his debut international tournament and won a Bronze medal for India. He then went on to participate in several wrestling championships including Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, and several national and international tournaments and won many medals.

  

• After winning several medals for India, the Government of India posted him as a Gazetted officer at OSD Sports in the Indian Railways.

• In a conversation with a media house, Bajrang Punia once disclosed that he enjoyed gaining knowledge from the elders of his village.

• In 2015, his family shifted to Sonepat, where he was enrolled in a regional centre of the Sports Authority of India (SAI).

• According to the family members of Bajrang, he was named after an Indian god Lord Hanuman as Bajrang was born on Tuesday, which is considered an auspicious day to worship Lord Hanuman.

• Apart from wrestling, Bajrang loves playing Basketball and Football.

  

• In his leisure time, Bajrang likes dancing.

• According to Bajrang Punia, he used to participate in several local wrestling competitions to earn money before becoming a professional wrestler.

• Bajrang’s personal coach is renowned Indian wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, and Bajrang wishes to become like Yogeswar Dutt.

  

• Bajrang became the first Indian wrestler who won a Gold medal for India in Asian Games in 2017.

• In 2018, Bajrang Punia won a silver medal at the 2018 World Wrestling Championship, and upon this win, he was considered the World No. 1 in the 65 kg category.

  

• Bajrang Punia won a gold medal at the Dan Kolov-Nikola Petrov tournament in Ruse, Bulgaria in a wrestling championship and dedicated this medal to the Indian Air Force (IAF) Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman.

• On, 25 November 2020, Bajrang Punia and his fellow wrestler, Sangeeta Phogat got married in Village Balali in Haryana. Soon after his marriage, he posted a heartfelt note and his marriage picture with Sangeeta on his Instagram account. He wrote,
  

  Today, I have chosen my life partner and it feels like I have gained another family. I am starting a new chapter in my life and I am both happy and excited for the journey ahead. Thank you for your love and wishes.”

  

• Soon after winning a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, Bajrang was felicitated with ₹30 lakh (US$39,000) from the Government of India, ₹2.5 crores (US$330,000) from the Government of Haryana, ₹25 lakh (US$33,000) from the Board of Control for Cricket in India, and ₹25 lakh (US$33,000) from the Indian Olympic Association.

  

• Bajrang remains very active on various social media platforms. He often shares pictures and videos on social media. Over 539k people follow his Instagram account. On Facebook, he is followed by more than 761k people. Over 323k people follow his Twitter handle.

• On 22 December 2023, Bajrang Punia tried to return his 2019 Padma Shri award to the Prime Minister’s residence. The Delhi police, however, stopped him at Rajpath, so he left the award on the footpath. Punia’s decision was an act of protest against the appointment of Sanjay Singh as the President of the Wrestling Federation of India; Punia opposed Sanjay’s election due to his association with the politician Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who faced sexual harassment allegations from female wrestlers. ^[9]Republic World

• Bajrang left the Sports Authority of India centre in hush and tears after he failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics on 10 March 2024. ^[10]Hindustan Times

• He and Vinesh Phogat resigned from their Indian Railways jobs and joined the Indian National Congress ahead of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha election in September 2024.