Olympics: Who is Deepak Punia, the Wrestler Slated To Compete for Bronze?

Punia, a 22 year old, is a freestyle wrestler, hailing from Chhara village in Jhajjar district of Haryana.

Former junior world champion and Indian wrestler Deepak Punia is slated to fight for the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics on Thursday, 5 August.

(Photo altered by The Quint)

Former junior world champion and Indian wrestler Deepak Punia is slated to fight for the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics on Thursday, 5 August. This comes after Punia lost the semi-final bout against USA’s David Morris Taylor in the men’s 86kg freestyle wrestling on Wednesday, 4 August.

Punia, a 22 year old, is an Indian freestyle wrestler, hailing from the Chhara village in Jhajjar district of Haryana.

It is believed that Punia began his Olympic bid with technical superiority, and reached the men's freestyle 86kg semifinals with significant ease.

Feathers in His Cap

In 2019, Punia won the silver medal at the World Wrestling Championships in the freestyle 86 kg category. He had also won a gold medal at Junior World Wrestling Championship held in Tallinn, Estonia, becoming the first Indian to do so in 18 years.

In an interview given to the Times of India, in 2019, following his win at the Junior World Wrestling Championship, Deepak Punia had said:

“If I will win a medal at the World Championships, I will book a quota for the Tokyo Olympics 2020. Qualifying for Tokyo Olympics is my main target."

More About Punia

He had also shared that whenever he needs advice, he reaches out to another famous Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia. He had said he was lucky that he has someone like Bajrang as his senior.

Punia has reportedly not competed since the 2020 World Cup and had pulled out of the Poland Open owing to a left-hand injury.

(With inputs from India Today and Times of India.)