Exclusive: 'Complete focus on my wrestling career, coach Shako wasn't pushed out' - Bajrang Punia on his comeback after injury, the Olympic bronze & more

Bajrang Punia, debilitated and frustrated by his knee injury, was warming up for his 65kg freestyle bronze-medal bout. It was the biggest stage of them all -- the Olympics. He had landed in Tokyo virtually on one leg, carrying a knee injury he suffered in Russia barely a month or so before the Games. But his valor had shone through in the Japanese capital. Bajrang, though, lost in the semis to Azerbaijan's Haji Aliyev. Now, it was either an Olympic medal or an agonizing wait of another three years. With that playing on his mind, Bajrang virtually decided to put his career on the line. "Remove the (knee) brace for now, we'll take care of the injury later," he told the physio. Summoning every inch of his energy reserves, Bajrang beat Kazakhstan's Daulet Niyazbekov 8-0 to win an Olympic bronze medal. But the effort took its toll, on his knees. For more than six months after that, Bajrang had to be in rehab mode, and returned only late last month for the selection trials ahead of the Asian Championships beginning April 19. Ahead of his departure for the tournament in Mongolia, TimesofIndia.com visited the Sports Authority of India centre in Sonepat, where Bajrang was part of the national camp for the Indian men's wrestling team. A candid Bajrang sat down for an exclusive interview with TimesofIndia.com on the sidelines of the arena , taking questions on his life on and around the mat, and also on what it's like to be a newly-married man (Bajrang married wrestler Sangeeta Phogat of the famed Phogat wrestling family in November 2020).

(Photo: Times Internet)Excerpts...It's good to see you back on the mat...Of course, it's a great feeling. Very happy that I will be returning to the mat fully prepared. Training is going