Bajrang Punia: We will win three to four medals from wrestling in Olympics

The 26-year-old also spoke about the tough competition in his weight category.

India’s star wrestler Bajrang Punia is confident of winning medals in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics which has been postponed to 2021 due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The World No. 2 qualified for the Olympic Games after winning a bronze medal in the World Wrestling Championship in Kazakhstan last year. He stated that Indian wrestlers are very much in contention to win three to four medals.

"I think we will win three to four medals from wrestling in the Tokyo Olympics. The World Championship is a tougher tournament than the Olympics but we performed well there. So I think Indian wrestlers are in top form which makes them strong contenders for a medal haul in Tokyo," said Bajrang Punia during an Instagram live session with Table Tennis player Mudit Dani.

Apart from Bajrang Punia (65kg), Deepak Punia (86kg), Vinesh Phogat (53kg) and Ravi Kumar Dahiya (57kg) have also qualified for the Tokyo Olympics. Deepak had won a silver medal in the World Championship while Vinesh and Ravi had taken bronze medals in their respective weight categories.

The three-time World Championship medallist reckoned the tough competition in his weight category. Bajrang Punia remarked, "I feel 65kg is the toughest category in the world. There is no wrestler who has successively won world championship titles or Olympic gold medals. There is always a new champion in every edition. There are strong wrestlers in this category who can beat anyone on their day."

He was also full of praise for various events that the Indian government and sports federations are organising to nurture future stars of India. Punia said that events such as Khelo India have provided a big platform for young athletes to showcase their talent to a wider audience.

"The way we have been organising events at the grassroots level such as Khelo India, a lot of youngsters are getting much-needed support from it which was not there earlier. And if they keep getting this kind of support, not only in wrestling, India will win medals in every sport at the Olympics," the grappler concluded.