The opening day of 18th Asian Games will be remarkable one for India as Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia won Gold for the nation. By defeating Daichi Takatani of Japan with 11-8 in the final, Punia brought Gold for India. He fought in the men’s freestyle 65-kg category. He dedicated this medal to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. On this achievement of Bajrang Punia, Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje extended her best wishes to the wrestler.
A good day for #India at the #AsianGames2018!
Congratulate wrestler Bajrang Punia on winning the first Gold in the men’s freestyle 65 kg event.— Vasundhara Raje (@VasundharaBJP) August 19, 2018
Belonging to Huddan village in Jhajjar, Punia has struggled a lot to come to this position. He began wrestling at the age of 8 and his desire to win big pulled him from his village’s akhada to Delhi’s Chhatrasal Stadium.
Bajrang Punia’s achievements
This is Bajrang Punia’s second gold medal at the Asian Games after his triumph in Incheon 2014 in 61-kg category. In fact, he had won Gold in three prior competition which were Commonwealth Games (Gold Coast), Tbilisi Grand Prix (Georgia) and Yasar Dogu International (Istanbul). With this latest medal, he has now become a national icon.
Bajrang Punia’s on winning Gold
Punia shared that this medal has raised people’s expectation from me. If you win a medal at the Asian Games then you will be taken a serious contender for the Olympics. I am already preparing for Tokyo. He also cited that his ‘guru’ and Olympian Yogeshwar Dutt told him that he had won it in 2014 and now, this time he had to win.
Talking about the first day 18thAsian Games going in Jakarta Palembang, apart from Punia, Indian shooters Apurvi Chandela and Ravi Kumar bagged a bronze medal in the game.
