Sakshi Malik in her book Witness has made some claims against Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia and Babita Phogat. Sakshi, who won a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics, claimed in her book that Vinesh and Bajrang’s decision made her sport look “selfish”. Former wrestler and current MP Vinesh Phogat disagreed, saying that he and Bajrang Punia’s decision to be exempted from the Asian Games selection weakened their performance against Brijbhushan Sharan Singh. Sakshi Malik did not stop there and said that Babita Phogat instigated the wrestler to become the President of the Wrestling Federation and she wanted to replace Brigitte Bhushan Sharan Singh.
Amid all these claims, it was Indian wrestler and current Congress leader Bajrang Punia’s social media posts that sparked discussion. Bajrang Punia wrote this article after serving as Kisan Congress Working President. This is very popular. Bajrang said in the post that his life was going well, but some junior wrestlers came to his house and participated in two moves. His whole life changed after that.
Today at the Congress headquarters in Delhi @BajrangPunia Ji took office as the executive chairman of the National Assembly of South Korea.
Congress President Mahila on the occasion @lambaalka Ji and Mahila Congress colleagues congratulated him. pic.twitter.com/RWfcydJp1Y
— All India Mahila Congress (@MahilaCongress) October 22, 2024
In this article written on October 22, Olympic medalist Bajrang Punia wrote: “Everything is going well in my life, I win medals in sports competitions, get awards from the government, get ministers And a lot of praise from the officials, and some of the juniors in my family. “The female wrestlers came and everyone had tears in their eyes after the official Ram-Lami match. As I listened to him speak, a life journey began that I never imagined possible. As a result of his involvement in the struggle, the game was lost, the career was lost, and Ram-Lami of Minister Sentinel also lost. But the good news is that now female players have earned their place. This victory is a bigger victory than my Olympic medal.
Bajrang did not stop there, he further wrote in the post – I keep the rewards given by the government in front of the Prime Minister’s residence. The Agnivert movement and the peasant movement also experienced great changes during this lifetime. Both actions reminded me of what my life was like before winning an Olympic medal? This medal may have changed my life, but it did not change the lives of my people. When I looked at the medal, I was reminded of my childhood dreams; now, as I look at the journey ahead, I am reminded of my childhood reality. Everything that happens in these complex situations is called life.
Everything is going well in my life. Win medals in sports. Received government awards. It was highly praised by ministers and officials. Then some junior female wrestlers came to my house. After the formal Ram-Lami ceremony, everyone was in tears. As I listened to him speak, a life journey that I never imagined began…
— Bajrang Punia 🇮🇳 (@BajrangPunia) October 22, 2024
Who is Bajrang Punia?
Despite a knee injury, Bajrang Punia did the country proud by winning a bronze medal in his first Tokyo Olympics. Bajrang was born in an ordinary family in Jhajjar, Haryana. His father Balwan Singh was a wrestler himself. As a young man, Bajrang often skipped school to watch wrestlers wrestle.
Bajrang Punia said in an interview that I don’t know when wrestling became a part of his life. The Indian wrestler started training at a local akhada at the age of 14 and was soon introduced to Olympic medalist Yogeshwar Dutt. Under the tutelage of Yogeshwar Dutt, Bajrang learned many nuances related to wrestling, which later served him very well. Bajrang Punia first came to prominence in 2013 when he won bronze medals in the men’s freestyle 60kg category at the Asian Wrestling Championships and the World Wrestling Championships.
