Bajrang Punia's golden run continues

NEW DELHI: Indian wrestling's poster boy, Bajrang Punia, indicated his strong form going into the upcoming World Championships - to be held in Nur-Sultan,

Kazakhstan

from September 14-22 - by picking his fourth gold of the year at the

Tbilisi

Grand Prix in Georgia on Saturday.


Bajrang hardly broke a sweat in the final as he defeated Iran's Pejman Biabani 2-0 to claim the 65kg title. A day before, he had thrashed Georgia's Akaki Kemertelidze 12-0 in the semifinal.

Besides the gold in Georgia, Bajrang has won gold medals at the Ali Aliev tournament in Dagestan, Russia, the

Dan Kolov

tournament in Ruse, Bulgaria and the

Asian Wrestling Championships

in Xi'an, China this year.

"I had not fought in any international competition for 3-4 months. That's why I participated here (in the Tbilisi Grand Prix) - so that I could gauge my preparation level for the upcoming World Championships," Bajrang told TOI from Georgia. "There are some areas that I need to work on before taking the mat at the Worlds, and that's what I'll be focusing on during my practice sessions henceforth," he added.

Bajrang had won silver at the 2018 World Championships that was held in Budapest, Hungary. This year the 25-year-old will attempt to improve the colour of his medal. "It (2019 World Championships) will be my sixth world championship. I have won a bronze (in 2013) and a silver (2018) in this elite tournament. So, naturally, my target is to go one step further. Now, I have a lot of experience under my belt and that will surely help," Bajrang said.

"Before that, it is important that I manage to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. The top six will qualify and I will try and get the pressure of qualification off my back at the World Championships," he added.

Giving insight into his preparations, Bajrang said, "I never think that I am the best or special. I treat every bout as my final bout. I never underestimate my opponent - whosoever he is. I watch videos of my opponent before a bout, whether it is the first round or the final, and then devise a match-specific strategy along with my personal coach (Shako Bentinidis)."