'Gem of India': Sports fraternity wishes Bajrang Punia as wrestler turns 27

Asiad and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Bajrang Punia is one of the top wrestlers from India at present and he is one of the strongest bets for bagging a medal at the upcoming Summer Games in Tokyo. Punia turned 27 on Friday, 26 February. On the Haryana-based wrestler’s birthday, many colleagues and members of the sports fraternity took to Twitter to wish the player. Here are a few reactions:

Happy Birthday ,बड़े भाई, May This Birthday Bring The Most Wonderful Things Into Your Life. @BajrangPunia #HappyBirthdayBajrangPunia pic.twitter.com/95okVmayiD

— Amit Panghal (@Boxerpanghal) February 26, 2021

Champion जन्मदिन कि ढेरों शुभकामनाएँ @BajrangPunia pic.twitter.com/Z9sQdN9hTP — Pooja Dhanda (@poojadhanda0007) February 26, 2021

@BajrangPunia happy birthday bhaiji, best wishes for the coming Tokyo Games.

— Sharad Kumar (@sharad_kumar01) February 26, 2021

जन्मदिन की हार्दिक शुभकामनाएं @BajrangPunia भाई#HAPPYBIRTHDAY to the one and only #TeamIndia wrestling sensation, Bajrang! We wish you a great day, a very successful tournament in Rome and a fantastic Olympic year! pic.twitter.com/6Gf6nhuIFh — Team India (@WeAreTeamIndia) February 26, 2021

Birthday greetings to one of the best Wrestlers in the world. World champion,Khel Ratna, Arjuna and Padma Awarde. Best wishes Pahlwan. Go for Gold. @BajrangPunia @realmanubhaker pic.twitter.com/YmqfU9hRjx

— Ramkishan Bhaker (@BhakerRamkishan) February 26, 2021

Arjuna Award in 2015 Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 2019 Padma Shri in 2019 Happy birthday to freestyle wrestler @BajrangPunia pic.twitter.com/U0qG4xm95l — Doordarshan Sports (@ddsportschannel) February 26, 2021

अपने खेल से देश दुनिया में भारत का नाम रोशन करने वाले अंतरराष्ट्रीय खिलाड़ी @BajrangPunia को जन्मदिन की हार्दिक बधाई एवं शुभकामनाएं। ईश्वर आपको खुश रखें।

— Sandeep Singh (@flickersingh) February 26, 2021

Happy birthday to #GemOfIndia @BajrangPunia !!! We are happy to be part of your #sports journey and grateful for bringing laurels for the nation. #TOPSAthlete #wrestling pic.twitter.com/VeIVxZlYSH — SAIMedia (@Media_SAI) February 26, 2021

A couple of days before his 27th birthday, the wrestler was selected for an international tournament, which is the first global event for Punia after the pandemic.

He is one of the four Indian wrestlers who have already qualified for the Olympics which is going to be held in July this year. Before the Tokyo Olympics, Punia will be getting a good taste of international competition at the Matteo Pellicone in Rome. Punia was included in the 34-member squad for the event to be staged in March by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) on Wednesday

Since the wrestler had not attended the World Cup event organised in Belgrade, Serbia in December last year, Matteo Pellicone will be crucial for him to get back on track after a long forced exile due to the pandemic.

Recently, the athlete had spoken about the importance of tournament exposure in an interview. He said that one cannot “win medals simply by training in gyms”. In order to bring out the best in a player, they needed to compete in tournaments. “Only by participating in tournaments you can know whether to focus more on power, speed or stamina,” he further said.

When he goes to the mat in March, he will be professionally participating in an event after a year. Punia’s last international wrestling event was at the Asian Wrestling Championships in February 2020.