It will be a massive blow to the wrestler who must have been very high on confidence after securing the bronze medal at the Olympics.
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Things have taken a turn for the worse for Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia recently. The athlete secured the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics recently but it seems like he will not be participating in any competition this year anymore. Punia suffered a ligament tear in his right knee leading up to the Olympics. He played through the injury at The Games, further aggravating it as a result. Now, it seems unlikely that he will participate in any competition this year. He will not compete in the upcoming wrestling World Championships after being advised of a six-week rehabilitation to treat the torn ligament. It will be a massive blow to the wrestler who must have been very high on confidence after securing the bronze medal for India at the Olympics.
The World Championships are scheduled to be held in the Norwegian city of Oslo from October 2 to October 10. It is very bad news for Punia since there is no chance of him beginning mat training for at least six weeks. Even then, he would be nowhere near his best initially. The wrestler recently underwent an MRI scan for the injury that he had suffered way back in June while he was training for the Tokyo Olympics, in Russia. He consulted Dr. Dinshaw Pardiwala, who heads the Centre for Sports Medicine at Mumbai’s Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital. The wrestler must not have been happy when he was informed about the extent of the injury and the period for which he would be out of action.
“It’s a ligament tear and I have been asked to follow a rehabilitation programme for six weeks by Dr. Dinshaw. I won’t be able to compete at the World Championship,” Punia said to news agency PTI. The World Championship is the only ranking series event left in 2021 and as per the athlete, his 2021 season has come to an end.
“The Worlds was the only major championship in the calendar for this year. I don’t see myself competing in any other tournament this season,” a dejected Punia said. He suffered the injury in June when he was participating in the Russian tournament, Ali Aliyev. It happened in his semi-final bout against Abulmazhid Kudiev. Kudiev got hold of the Indian’s right leg and pulled him abruptly in the first period of the bout. Punia had to eventually forfeit the tie as he could not keep continuing.
However, the wrestler did take part in the Tokyo Olympics and won the bronze medal with a torn ligament. “Since it was my first Olympics and I had a dream to win an Olympic medal, I competed through pain in Tokyo. I had to do it,” he said.
The wrestler confirmed that he was not consulting any specific physiotherapist for his lengthy rehabilitation. “I am doing it myself in Sonepat. Dr. Dinshaw has advised a few exercises that I am doing everyday now in the gym. The mat-training time will also go into the rehab,” the 27-year-old said.
