'90% fit' Bajrang Punia pleads for a full-time physio

Bajrang blames non-availability of physio for slow recoveryNEW DELHI: It is not often that an Olympic medallist and a reigning CWG and Asian Games champion complains about the lack of support staff in his entourage. That too, at a time when the government is supporting sportspersons of different disciplines through its various athlete-friendly programmes, including the Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) and Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS).

Wrestler Bajrang Punia, who won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, has been forced to plead with authorities to provide him with a full-time 'physio' so that he can recover from knee injuries ahead of the senior Asian Championship, Birmingham CWG and Hangzhou Asian Games scheduled later this year. Bajrang, who returned to competitive action for the first time on Thursday since his Tokyo feat, reminded the Sports Authority of India's (SAI) TOPS division that he has been rehabilitating from knee injuries on his own, without the support of a dedicated physio which was available to him up until the Summer Games.

Bajrang had entered the Tokyo Games half-fit, nursing an injury to his right knee suffered during the semifinals of the Ali Aliyev invitational tournament in Moscow in June last year. He later suffered another injury to his left knee during a training session at SAI centre, Sonepat in January end.

On Thursday, after booking his place in the Indian contingent for the Ulaanbaatar Asian Championships in Mongolia from April 19 to 24, Bajrang informed that while he's still undergoing treatment on his right knee. His left-knee injury has improved "90 percent".