Self-doubts had crept in post Tokyo Olympics due to knee injuries, but now I am the same Bajrang of 2018 & '19, says Bajrang Punia

Commonwealth Games in Birmingham next month. “I realised that my body had become slow, my attacking moves during competitive bouts lacked zing, I can’t move rapidly on the mat. Even after the Tokyo Olympics, I couldn’t get over my injury concerns. For the next 8-9 months, my mind would only think about the knee injury that I had suffered. There was always this fear of getting injured again, which affected my game," Bajrang, the reigning CWG and Asian Games champion, told media in an interaction facilitated by the SAI. "It restricted my movement during bouts as I would refrain from going all-out against an opponent. Then, last month, I went for some medical tests to clear my self-doubts. The tests were related to my speed, stamina, flexibility and power. Some were done at the Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) Sonepat centre while the others were conducted at a private university. It helped me a lot, as I was back to being the same Bajrang which people used to admire during 2018 and ’19 when there were no injury concerns as such.”

Bajrang would be flying out to the US for a 35-day training camp at the Michigan University ahead of the CWG. The training stint will be part of the wrestler’s preparations for the CWG (July 28-August 8) and the World Championships (September 10-18) in the Serbian capital of Belgrade. “I will get good sparring partners there, as I would be training with the current world No.1 in the 70kg category and another in the 65kg division. It would also help me to concentrate fully on my training for the CWG and the Worlds, away from the disturbances which we athletes usually face while practising in India. Every now and then, there would be some birthday party, marriage function, felicitations or routine