Haryanvi Suplex

Padma Shri Bajrang Punia believes that it is the soil that gives birth to the state’s (and India’s) finest wrestlers. We grapple with him on the subject.

- Mehul Reuben Das

Tell us something about your journey so far. How and when did you start wrestling?

I started when I was seven. The environment in my village has always been very conducive for wrestling. I was never much into academics and would often skip school to go to the local akhara to participate in the mud dangals. My father used to be a wrestler as well, but had to it give up because of our family’s economic situation. He always wanted to see his children do well in this field, which helped as well.

How would you say that wrestling has evolved since the time you started practicing?

I think a lot of it has to be credited to Sushil Kumar and Yogeshwar Dutt and their performances at the Beijing and London Olympics. Their medals really helped in changing the impressions about the sport and wrestlers started gaining a lot of respect. Besides that, even for their fellow and junior wrestlers, they became role models and inspirations. Earlier, wrestlers used to go for international tournaments without much motivation and thought of them as fun trips, but after 2008, they started believing in their abilities to win medals at the international stage.

What is it about Haryana and wrestling that is so closely knit?