TOPS sanctions extension of Bajrang Punia's USA camp by a month

Indian men's 65-kg freestyle wrestler Bajrang Punia who is currently in a training camp at Cliff Kean Wrestling Club in Michigan, USA, has had his camp sanctioned for an additional one month.

This decision to sanction the camp at an approximate cost of INR 11.65 lakhs under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) was taken at the Mission Olympic Cell meeting that took place last week.

"All facilities here are available, there is a gym, moreover I am getting very good sparring partners. The college boys who train here are good as well. I am getting access to everything I need to improve my level," said Punia in an official statement.

Punia had already been training in the USA from December 4 and had travelled there with his coach Emzarios Bentinidis and physio Dhananjay. With the training camp now being extended, it will take place till the first week of February.

Quality of sparring partners played a big role in Punia seeking an extension to the training camp.

"The quality of sparring partners here is very good. In India, I am normally training with 74-kg and 79-kg category wrestlers but here I am getting to train with my own weight category," he said.

Punia earned a quota for the Tokyo Olympics in September 2019 after winning a bronze medal at the World Championships. His last competitive international event was in February 2020 at the Asian Senior Championships in New Delhi.

"I plan my comeback at the Rome ranking series event in March and will follow that up by participating in the Asian Championships in Kazakhstan," said Punia.

( With inputs from ANI )