Bajrang braves head injury for 4th Worlds medal

INJURIES seem to spur wrestler Bajrang Punia on. It happened last year at the Tokyo Olympics where he competed with his injured right knee to win bronze. It happened again at the World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia. Despite sustaining a serious head injury in his first bout, he not only competed with his skull bandaged heavily but also finished on the podium, winning his fourth Worlds medal. For the record, he is the only wrestler from the country to win four medals at the event.

Ahead of the bout, his coach Sujeet Maan had confirmed to this daily that the injury is serious. "Bajrang sustained a deep cut on his skull during his first bout against the Cuban wrestler.

We didn't go for stitches then as they could have opened up during the bouts," Maan told this daily after his ward won bronze.

The 28-year-old Haryana wrestler injured his head during his pre-quarterfinal bout in 65kg weight category against Alejandro Enrique Valdes Tobier. He though managed to win the contest 5-4 but went on to lose the next round to USA's Yianni Diakomihalis 0-10. With the USA wrestler reaching the final, Bajrang got a shot at the bronze medal via repechage round.