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Deepak Punia says he skipped world meet final to avoid surgery on left ankle

- Aditya K Halder

Wrestler Deepak Punia’s meteoric rise in wrestling world can be an inspiration for any budding grappler. From the high of winning gold at the junior world championships to clinching silver in the senior event, along with an Olympic berth, it is quite palpable.

Adding to that, the 25-year-old wrestler did that with a serious injury threat to his ankle in Nur Sultan last week, which makes the achievement even more astonishing.

Getting injured as early as the first round and still making into the final sounds a herculean task but was it the risk worth taking?

Deepak explains it was, as an Olympic berth was on the line.

“After I won gold in juniors last month, I knew I would be able to qualify for Olympics and win a medal at the World Championships. So when I got injured in the first round, I thought I can’t give up now. Also I want to thank Pehelwan ji (Sushil Kumar) for encouraging me to continue with the pain,” the grappler told MAIL TODAY.

Will recover from the injury in 15 to 20 days

While the wrestler dazed into the final and aggravated his injury at the same time, the pain was too much to take on the final day, forcing Deepak to say goodbye to his medal hopes as threat of surgery of the ankle loomed large.