Bajrang Punia is an Indian freestyle wrestler who is well recognized for winning a bronze medal by defeating Kazakhstan’s Daulet Niyazbekov with a wide 8-0 margin at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He competes in the 65-kg weight category. He is also best known for being the only Indian wrestler to win 3 medals at the World Wrestling Championships. He started wrestling at the age of seven and was encouraged to pursue the sport by his father. His father was also a wrestler as well and at a young age, his family enrolled him in a local mud wrestling school. He is also active in social media as he has earned more than 585K followers on his Instagram account and over 353.4K followers on his Twitter account. Additionally, he clinched the gold medal with a dominating win over Canada’s Lachlan McNeil in the 65kg final bout at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
Bajrang Punia Famous For
- He is an Indian freestyle wrestler.
- He won a bronze medal by defeating Kazakhstan’s Daulet Niyazbekov with a wide 8-0 margin at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Bajrang Punia Early life, Parents & State
Bajrang Punia opened his eyes for the very first time on 26th February 1994 in Khudan, Jhajjar, Haryana, India. He is of Indian nationality and he belongs to Asian ethnicity. Likewise, his religious belief is in the Hindu religion and his race is black. Punia celebrated his 28th birthday in 2022 and as per his birthdate, his star sign is Pisces. His father, Balvan Singh Punia is a Former Wrestler and his mother, Om Pyari Punia is a housewife. He has two siblings and his one brother’s name is Harendra Punia.
Talking about Punia’s education, his family enrolled him in a local mud wrestling school but, he began to skip school to go to wrestling practice. Later he went to Chattarsal Stadium in 2008 where he was trained by Ramphal Mann. In 2015, Bajrang’s family moved to Sonepat so that he can attend a regional center of the Sports Authority of India.
Bajrang Punia Career (Indian freestyle wrestler)
- Bajrang Punia kicks off his professional wrestling career in the 2013 Asian Wrestling Championships where he lost 3-1 to Hwang Ryong-hak of North Korea to win the bronze medal in the men’s freestyle 60 kg category in the semi-final bout in New Delhi, India.
- He then faced Shogo Maeda of Japan in the round of 16, beating him 3-1. His opponent in the quarter-finals was Morad Hassan of Iran whom he beat 3-1 to qualify for the semi-finals..
- In the 2013 World Wrestling Championships, he won the bronze medal in the men’s freestyle 60 kg category by qualifying for the bronze medal bout through the repechage round after which he met Enkhsaikhany Nyam-Ochir of Mongolia and beat him 9-2
- He faced Vladimir Dubov of Bulgaria who beat him 7-0 in the Round of 32 and with the Bulgarian grappler qualifying for the final bout, Bajrang then faced Shogo Maeda of Japan and earned a walkover.
- Bajrang’s next opponent was Ivan Guidea of Romania, and with a 10-3 win over the Romanian, Bajrang earned a spot in the bronze medal bout.
- He also won the silver medal in the men’s freestyle 61 kg category in Glasgow, Scotland in the 2014 Commonwealth Games, after losing 1-4 to David Tremblay of Canada and faced Sasha Madyarchyk of England and beat him 4-0 in the Round of 16.
- He faced Marno Plaatjies of South Africa in the quarter-finals and won 4-1 as well as the Nigerian wrestler, Amas Daniel, was his opponent in the semi-finals and overcame him in a 3-1 score line.
- Subsequently, he won the silver medal in the Men’s freestyle 61 kg category in the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, after losing 1-3 to Masoud Esmaeilpoorjouybari of Iran.
- Punia’s quarter-finals opponent was Farkhodi Usmonzoda of Tajikistan whom he beat 4-1 to qualify for the semi-finals. He was also assured of a medal when he beat Noriyuki Takatsuka of Japan 4-1 in the semi-finals.
- In the 2014 Asian Wrestling Championships, he won the silver medal in the men’s freestyle 61 kg category, losing 0-4 to Masoud Esmaeilpour of Iran in Astana, Kazakhstan, and met Lee Seung-Chul of South Korea whom he beat 3-1 in the Round of 16.
- In the 2015 World Wrestling Championships, Punia met Batboldyn Nomin of Mongolia who beat him 10-0 in the Round of 32 whereas his first opponent in the repechage round was Reece Humphrey of the USA whom he beat 6-0 easily.
- Sadly, he fell at the last hurdle, drawing the bronze medal bout 6-6 but his opponent Vasyl Shuptar of Ukraine, scored the last point.
- Bajrang won a gold medal at the Asian Wrestling Championship held in Delhi in May 2017 and was the second acquisition of the JSW-owned Bangalore franchise in the auction conducted in New Delhi in the Pro Wrestling League.
- He won the gold medal in the men’s freestyle 65 kg category in the 2018 Commonwealth Games and overcame Kane Charig of Wales by Technical Superiority to clinch the gold.
- On the 19th of August, he won the Men’s freestyle 65 kg /Gold medal in the 2018 Asian Games and defeated Japanese Wrestler Takatani Daichi 11-8; the score was locked at 6-6 after the first round.
- As well, he won Silver at the 2019 World Wrestling Championships and the Silver Medal, he claimed World No. 1 in the 65 kg category.
- He also won Bronze for the second time at a World Championship, thereby qualifying India for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in the 65 kg freestyle wrestling event.
- On 18th January 2020, Bajrang defeated Jordan Oliver 4-3 in the final in the 65 kg freestyle category at the Ranking Series and won the gold medal in the 65 kg event at the Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series 2021 held in Rome, Italy.
- Also, Punia clinched a silver medal at the 2021 Asian Wrestling Championships after losing to Takuto Otoguro in the final.
- He won the pre-quarterfinal match in the 65 kg category in the 2020 Summer Olympics against Ernazar Akmataliev on 6th August 2021 and his quarter-final match against Morteza Ghiasi Cheka.
- He defeated the Kazakhstani wrestler Daulet Niyazbekov in the bronze medal match, winning by a margin of 8-0 and recently, he clinched the gold medal with a dominating win over Canada’s Lachlan McNeil in the 65kg final bout at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
- Moreover, Punia currently works in the Indian Railways in the post of Gazetted officer OSD Sports.
Awards and Achievements
- Arjuna Award, 2015
- Padma Shri Award, 2019
- Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, 2019
- FICCI India Sports Award 2020
Medals
- Wrestling at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Men’s freestyle 65 kg
- Wrestling at the 2022 Commonwealth Games – Men’s 65 kg freestyle
- Wrestling at the 2018 Commonwealth Games – Men’s freestyle 65 kg
- Wrestling at the 2018 Asian Games – Men’s freestyle 65 kg
- Wrestling at the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games – Men’s 65 kg freestyle
For winning the bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics
- ₹30 lakh (US$38,000) from the Government of India.
- ₹2.5 crores (US$310,000) from the Government of Haryana.
- ₹25 lakh (US$31,000) from the Board of Control for Cricket in India
- ₹25 lakh (US$31,000) from the Indian Olympic Association
Who is Bajrang Punia married to?
Bajrang Punia is a married man who tied the knot with a professional wrestler Sangeeta Phogat, who had been out of action for the last four years. The pair got married in a low-key ceremony in Phogat’s Haryana village in November of last year. They first met each other at a training camp and soon started dating. The couple’s relationship is outstanding till now and hopes it will remain as same in the future too. Concerning, Punia’s sexual orientation, he is straight.
How much is Bajrang Punia Net Worth?
Bajrang Punia is a versatile guy who has a net worth of $2 million as of 2022. He earns a considerable amount salary which is also thousands of dollars per year. With his calm and easy-going personality, Punia is expected to get more popular in the coming years, and we can expect him to climb the ladders of success. In addition, his major source of income is his wrestling career and he is sincere in his work. But, he is doing all the hard work in order to build a secure financial status for himself and his family.
Bajrang Punia Height and Weight
Bajrang Punia stands at an ideal height of 5 ft 6 in or 167.5 cm with a balanced body weight of 65 kg or 143.5 lbs. He has good-looking dark brown hair and eyes color. Enriched with the toned bicep and perfect built, the actor doesn’t hesitate to go shirtless. Besides, his body build type is athletic.
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