Bajrang Punia alleged that he has been forced to do his own rehabilitation from knee injuries owing to the non-availability of a full-time physio, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) hit back at the Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist by claiming that the star wrestler denied availing the services of two qualified physios when they visited him recently at the SAI Sonepat centre during the national camp. The WFI informed that Bajrang had sent many proposals to the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) division through the federation for sanctioning his personal coach and physiotherapist for training abroad and in India and the same was sanctioned at a cost of around Rs 20 lakh by the authorities from December 2020 to August 2021. “During the pre-Olympic training, Bajrang Punia with his personal physiotherapist, coach and sparring partner were sanctioned training-cum-competition exposure in Russia by TOPS/WFI. In Russia, during the semifinal bout, he sustained injury and was given immediate assistance by his physiotherapist, Manish Chettri, who was travelling with him throughout the pre-Olympics training. Further, the case was then examined by Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala with the help of the Central Athlete Injury Management System (CAIMS) and he recommended rehabilitation sessions for recovery. In this regard, a therapeutic equipment - Game Ready device with accessories was sanctioned by the sports ministry/SAI to Bajrang and facilitated by the Indian Embassy, Russia on priority basis,” the WFI said in a statement.
