Chandigarh, Nov 11
Haryana’s Bajrang Punia has become the world No. 1 in the 65kg category of men’s freestyle wrestling. Punia topped the United World Wrestling (UWW) rankings released .
“It is a proud and happy moment for me. The hard work has started to bear fruit but there are no celebrations. My family and well-wishers want me to win an Olympics gold and I will not stop till I achieve that goal,” the 24-year-old told The Tribune on the phone from Sonepat, where he is training at Yogeshwar Dutt’s academy.
Punia’s numero uno status comes on the back of an extremely successful year in which he has won four gold, one silver and one bronze medal. Silver at the Budapest World Championships, and gold at the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games were his major achievements this year. Punia credits his Georgian coach Shako Benitidis and mentor Dutt with his success. “I think the coach and foreign stints have given me a lot of exposure and I’m training in a more organised way,” he said.Punia tops UWW’s 65kg category rankings with 96 points, ahead of Cuba’s Alejandro Enrique Vlades Tobier (66 points) and Russia’s Akhmed Chakaev (62). World champion Takuto Otoguro of Japan, who beat Punia in the Budapest World Championships final last month, is No. 4 with 56 points. Punia is the first Indian wrestler to be ranked No. 1 in the world. Sushil Kumar had become the world champion in the 66kg class in 2010, but the UWW rankings were instituted only this year.
