Staying away from mat for 20-25 days affected my Olympics preparations: Bajrang Punia
New Delhi: Star India wrestler Bajrang Punia on Sunday revealed that his knee injury forced him to skip mat training for nearly three weeks which severely hampered his Olympic preparations and he took the mat for the bronze play-off without any knee protection, going against the advice of his support staff.
Bajrang had skipped the Poland Open, the last ranking event before the Tokyo Games, arguing that he needed training more than the points and headed to Russia, where he trained and also ended up injuring his right knee by choosing to compete in a local event -- Ali Aliev tournament.
On June 25, competing in the semi-finals of tournament against Abulmazhid Kudiev, the Under-23 European silver medallist, Bajrang endured a painful move and suffered the injury.
Bajrang was off-colour in his first three bouts in Tokyo but played his usual tactical and aggressive game in the do-or-die bronze medal bout and comfortably beat Daulet Niyazbekov from Kazakhstan to earn a podium finish on Olympic debut.
"I could not do mat training for nearly 25 days. I was not able to run as well after the injury. Before a tournament like Olympics even missing one day's training is not good," Bajrang said during a media interaction.
"My coaches and physio wanted me to continue to play with taped knee in the bronze bout. But I don't feel comfortable. It feels like someone has tied my leg, so I told them even if injury happens I can rest later but if I don't win medal now all the work will be lost, so I went all out," he said.
"The doctors wanted me to come back to India for treatment (from Russia) but I told them it was not possible (at that time). And there was a risk of getting the virus (COVID-19) during the travel.
"So I did my rehab in that small Russian village and got all the equipments that I needed with the help of Indian embassy in Moscow," he said.
Asked why he chose to compete when he had skipped the Poland Open to train, the 27-year-old said he needed to assess himself.
"Injuries can happen in training also. And most of the injuries happen during training because in the tournaments you are completely focussed. In training, you do a lot of different things.
"I needed to see where I stand in terms of preparations, so I had to compete," he said defending his decision.
The 27-year-old said he will continue to compete in the 65kg category till the Paris Games.
"There is no scope to move to 74kg. Next year we have the CWG and the Asian Games. I have missed the gold medal now but will work on my weaknesses and try to get a top-finish in Paris," he said.
Bajrang said he will start rehabilitation after going home and will get ready for the World Championships, set to be held in Oslo, Norway from October 2-10.
The Haryana wrestler also said that a lot of athletes succumb to pressure but he is comfortable carrying the weight of expectations.
"I have seen people crumble under pressure. It mostly happens with the new athletes but I feel happy when people tell me that they want to see me win Olympic medal.
"Pressure gives you nothing, so we must learn to play freely."
Asked if he would like to continue with his Georgian coach Shako Bentinidis, Bajrang said, no discussion has taken place on the subject as yet.
He also revealed that he was so upset after his semifinal defeat against Azerbaijan's Haji Aliev that he confined himself to his room and did not want to talk to anyone.
"I went to sleep but I could not sleep. I hardly slept for 2-3 hours. I was in a pretty bad mood and did not want to talk to anyone."
Unlike other wrestlers, weight-cut is not an issue that bothers Bajrang much and now he wants to go home and eat 'Choorma' that his mother Om Pyari prepares for him whenever he gets back home.
"Win or defeat, I get Choorma at home and I will eat that. maintaining weight is not a problem for me," he said.
Bajrang also advised that sports should be encouraged at all school and University level in the country, just like it happens in China and USA for India to unearth more talent.
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'Biggest political conspiracy': teary Arvind Kejriwal after court discharge in liquor policy case
New Delhi (PTI): An emotional Arvind Kejriwal on Friday asserted that the corruption case against him was the "biggest political conspiracy" in the history of Independent India, as a court here discharged him in the politically sensational liquor policy case.
After the court verdict, Kejriwal broke down while talking to the reporters. The AAP convener was present in the court when the order was passed.
"The court has proved that Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and AAP are 'Kattar Imaandar'," he said, accompanied by former deputy chief minister of Delhi Sisodia.
Kejriwal alleged that the "conspiracy" of the excise case was hatched to finish off AAP at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
"I always used to say that the god is with us. Modi ji and Amit Shah ji together hatched the biggest political conspiracy of Independent India. The five biggest leaders of AAP were sent to jail for finishing off the party," the former Delhi chief minister alleged.
First time a sitting Chief Minister was "dragged out of his home and put in jail," Kejriwal said and reminded people of his and Sisodia's jailing.
The entire case was fake, asserted Kejriwal, who was arrested in the alleged liquor scam case in March 2024 by the Enforcement Directorate.
"Mud slinging was resorted to against us. There were round-the-clock TV debates, and news was flashed that Kejriwal is corrupt," he said, breaking down.
He continued in a hoarse voice, "I have only earned honesty. They registered a fake case. Today, it's proved, the court has said 'Kejriwal Kattar Imandar Hai, Manish Sisodia Kattar Imandar Hai, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Kattar Imandar Hai.'"
The AAP supremo said he wanted to tell the prime minister not to toy with the country and the Constitution in his pursuit of power.
"If you want power, do good things. There are so many problems -- inflation, unemployment, broken down roads, pollution -- solve these problems to come to power," he said.
The AAP chief was greeted by his family at his residence on Feroz Shah Road. Party members and supporters danced to drum beats and distributed sweets.
Sunita Kejriwal, his wife, thanked the court and the judge for "bravery."
"Arvind Kejriwal led his entire life with honesty and for the progress of the country. But these people, in their greed for power, levelled fake charges, jailed his aides... But I had faith in God," she told PTI Videos.
Before the court vindication, the multi-crore-rupee corruption allegations led to the jailing of Kejriwal and Sisodia for an extended period of time.
After he went to prison, Kejriwal resigned from the post of Delhi chief minister, vowing to return to the post only when he was proven innocent.
Kejriwal became the first sitting Delhi chief minister to be arrested on March 21, 2024. He got bail from the Supreme Court on September 13 of the same year.
Sisodia, a former deputy chief minister, served around 17 months in jail before being released on bail.
On Friday, a Delhi court discharged both leaders in the excise policy-related corruption case, refusing to take cognisance of the CBI chargesheet.
Special Judge Jitendra Singh said that the chargesheet had several lacunae not supported by evidence, as he discharged 21 more besides the two Aam Aadmi Party leaders in the matter.
K Kavitha, the daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and a leader from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, was also among the acquitted.
The CBI has been probing alleged corruption in the formulation and execution of the erstwhile-AAP government's now-scrapped excise policy.
