Deepak Punia

Some Lesser Known Facts About Deepak Punia

• Deepak Punia is an Indian freestyle wrestler known for winning a silver medal at the 2019 World Wrestling Championships, which helped him get a place in the 2020 Summer Olympics.

• Deepak’s grandfather and father were professional wrestlers who used to compete in the local tournaments (dangal.) Deepak was introduced to the sport of wrestling when he was four years old. He started wrestling at local akharas to earn some money, and later, he moved to Chhatrasal Stadium to get proper training.

• In 2015, Deepak went to Chhatrasal Stadium to start his professional training under the guidance of his coaches, Virender Kumar and Satpal Singh. He was also practising under the supervision of two-time Olympic medal winner Sushil Kumar.

  

• Deepak’s efforts and hard work paid off when he won a gold medal at the 2016 Cadet World Championship that took place in Tbilisi, Georgia. Deepak participated in the Asian Junior Athletics Championships in 2018 and won a gold medal in the 86 kg category. He slowly moved towards Junior World Wrestling Championships in 2018 and won a silver medal for the country. However, he dreamt of winning a gold medal for the country.

  

• In 2019, Deepak again participated in Junior World Wrestling Championships and came victorious with a gold medal in the 86 kg weight category. Moving out of the junior level championships, Deepak participated in the World Wrestling Championships and made a name for himself by winning a silver medal. This paved the path for him to participate in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

• Deepak Punia reached the 2019 World Wrestling Championships with a shoulder and ankle injury, and he had to settle for the silver medal. He was supposed to face the Iranian wrestler Hassan Yazdani in the final round of the 86 kg weight category.

  

• After being shortlisted for the Tokyo Olympics, Deepak won a silver medal in the 2021 Asian Championships that took place in Almaty, Kazakhstan. After this, Deepak went to the Poland Open championship; however, he pulled out of the championship after he suffered a hand injury. He was supposed to face the American wrestler Zahid Valencia in the quarterfinal, but keeping in mind the Tokyo Olympics games Deepak decided to back out from the match to avoid any injury.

• Deepak Punia was the first wrestler in eighteen years to win a Junior World Championship. He was featured in the Forbes list of ’30 Under 30′ because of his performance.

• In 2019, Deepak Punia was conferred with the title of Junior Freestyle Wrestler of the Year by the United World Wrestling. ^[1]UWW

• In 2021, Deepak Punia and Ravi Kumar Dahiya were training in Russia for the Tokyo Olympics. When they arrived in Russia, they were partly vaccinated with Covishield. The Indian Embassy in Moscow decided that they would provide the second dose to both Deepak and Ravi, but that did not happen due to Poland’s strict vaccination policy. ^[2]The Times of India

• Deepak’s idolized Hassan Yazdani, the 2016 Olympic champion and two-time World Champion, while growing up. Deepak faced Yazdani at the Asian Championship gold medal fight where Deepak’s defence fell apart, and Yazdani won the match because of technical superiority. In an interview with PTI, Deepak’s coach Virender said-
  

  It’s natural to be flummoxed when you have to fight with the wrestler you have idolised growing up. But that hesitancy is a thing of the past. He discussed that Asian final bout with me and already has a plan in place.”

• During an interview, Virender spoke about Deepak’s dedication to the game, how he has maintained his discipline over the years, and how he was willing to learn from kids as well. He said-
  

  If I tell trainees that they have 600 dand-baithak (push-ups plus deep knee bends) in the task, Deepak would not only complete that, he will do some extra. I have seen him learning moves from even kids.”

• Deepak’s father used to travel 60 km every day from Jhajjar to his training centre every morning to deliver him milk and fruits. In his village, Deepak was known as Ketli Pehalwan. The story behind this name is that once, the head of the village offered him milk in a kettle that he drank in one gulp. He was then offered milk three more times, and he finished it all.

• Deepak loves shopping, spending time with his friends, and visiting malls. He also likes eating junk food whenever he gets the chance. In an interview with The Times of India, he said-
  

  Whenever I get a chance, like after the tournaments, I go out and eat even junk food. But once the break is over, I don’t think about anything else. Wrestling and training is life then.”

• In 2018, Deepak got a job as the Naik Subedar in the Indian Army. Along with this, he was also earning a steady income from his wrestling matches. Deepak also bought an SUV car in 2018, and he asked his father to stop selling milk as he was earning well enough for his family.

• During his initial years in wrestling, Deepak Punia lacked monetary support from the Haryana government. According to him, he was not given any cash rewards for his win in the Cadet World Championship. Supporting Deepak, Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia took the matter to Twitter and posted a Tweet from his account and talked about how the prize money for seniors is being deducted by the government. He also mentioned that junior wrestlers also need support from the government to encourage them to train harder and perform better.