'Gem of India': Sports fraternity wishes Bajrang Punia as wrestler turns 27

Asiad and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Bajrang Punia is one of the top wrestlers from India at present and he is one of the strongest bets for bagging a medal at the upcoming Summer Games in Tokyo. Punia turned 27 on Friday, 26 February. On the Haryana-based wrestler’s birthday, many colleagues and members of the sports fraternity took to Twitter to wish the player. Here are a few reactions:A couple of days before his 27th birthday, the wrestler was selected for an international tournament, which is the first global event for Punia after the pandemic.He is one of the four Indian wrestlers who have already qualified for the Olympics which is going to be held in July this year. Before the Tokyo Olympics, Punia will be getting a good taste of international competition at the Matteo Pellicone in Rome. Punia was included in the 34-member squad for the event to be staged in March by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) on WednesdaySince the wrestler had not attended the World Cup event organised in Belgrade, Serbia in December last year, Matteo Pellicone will be crucial for him to get back on track after a long forced exile due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Recently, the athlete had spoken about the importance of tournament exposure in an interview. He said that one cannot “win medals simply by training in gyms”. In order to bring out the best in a player, they needed to compete in tournaments. “Only by participating in tournaments you can know whether to focus more on power, speed or stamina,” he further said.When he goes to the mat in March, he will be professionally participating in an event after a year. Punia’s last international wrestling event was at the Asian Wrestling Championships in February 2020.