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Bajrang blames non-availability of physio for slow recovery
NEW DELHI: It is not often that an Olympic medallist and a reigning CWG and Asian Games champion complains about the lack of support staff in his entourage. That too, at a time when the government is supporting sportspersons of different disciplines through its various athlete-friendly programmes, including the Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) and Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS).
Wrestler Bajrang Punia, who won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, has been forced to plead with authorities to provide him with a full-time ‘physio’ so that he can recover from knee injuries ahead of the senior Asian Championship, Birmingham CWG and Hangzhou Asian Games scheduled later this year.
Bajrang, who returned to competitive action for the first time on Thursday since his Tokyo feat, reminded the Sports Authority of India‘s (SAI) TOPS division that he has been rehabilitating from knee injuries on his own, without the support of a dedicated physio which was available to him up until the Summer Games. Bajrang had entered the Tokyo Games half-fit, nursing an injury to his right knee suffered during the semifinals of the Ali Aliyev invitational tournament in Moscow in June last year. He later suffered another injury to his left knee during a training session at SAI centre, Sonepat in January end.
On Thursday, after booking his place in the Indian contingent for the Ulaanbaatar Asian Championships in Mongolia from April 19 to 24, Bajrang informed that while he’s still undergoing treatment on his right knee. His left-knee injury has improved “90 percent”. Bajrang defeated two-time national champion Rohit 4-2 in the selection trials for the Asian meet at the KD Jadhav wrestling Indoor stadium here to make the cut in the men’s freestyle 65kg category.
“This is the first time I have participated in a competition since Tokyo. I was recovering from knee injuries. I was doing my own rehabilitation with no doctor or physio available with me. I had their services till the Olympics. After that, I requested the TOPS division but no one was made available to me. My application for a full-time physio is pending with them. I had also placed a request for the same with JSW but they also sounded helpless. JSW informed me that they can’t attach personnel without the federation’s (WFI) permission. Later, the WFI provided a physio, but unfortunately, he passed away recently after working with me for just one week. He was all of 26 years,” Bajrang said after his bout.
“Since 2013, I have kept a full-time physio with me and that’s the reason why I have remained injury-free all these years. After Tokyo, I don’t have this luxury and I am getting injured more frequently. Had a physio been with me, I wouldn’t have missed the Rome ranking series and Yasar Dogu invitation in Istanbul. My recovery from knee injuries would have been much faster. I request the TOPS and authorities to provide me with a physio at the earliest,” he added.
NEW DELHI: It is not often that an Olympic medallist and a reigning CWG and Asian Games champion complains about the lack of support staff in his entourage. That too, at a time when the government is supporting sportspersons of different disciplines through its various athlete-friendly programmes, including the Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) and Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS).
Wrestler Bajrang Punia, who won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, has been forced to plead with authorities to provide him with a full-time ‘physio’ so that he can recover from knee injuries ahead of the senior Asian Championship, Birmingham CWG and Hangzhou Asian Games scheduled later this year.
Bajrang, who returned to competitive action for the first time on Thursday since his Tokyo feat, reminded the Sports Authority of India‘s (SAI) TOPS division that he has been rehabilitating from knee injuries on his own, without the support of a dedicated physio which was available to him up until the Summer Games. Bajrang had entered the Tokyo Games half-fit, nursing an injury to his right knee suffered during the semifinals of the Ali Aliyev invitational tournament in Moscow in June last year. He later suffered another injury to his left knee during a training session at SAI centre, Sonepat in January end.
On Thursday, after booking his place in the Indian contingent for the Ulaanbaatar Asian Championships in Mongolia from April 19 to 24, Bajrang informed that while he’s still undergoing treatment on his right knee. His left-knee injury has improved “90 percent”. Bajrang defeated two-time national champion Rohit 4-2 in the selection trials for the Asian meet at the KD Jadhav wrestling Indoor stadium here to make the cut in the men’s freestyle 65kg category.
“This is the first time I have participated in a competition since Tokyo. I was recovering from knee injuries. I was doing my own rehabilitation with no doctor or physio available with me. I had their services till the Olympics. After that, I requested the TOPS division but no one was made available to me. My application for a full-time physio is pending with them. I had also placed a request for the same with JSW but they also sounded helpless. JSW informed me that they can’t attach personnel without the federation’s (WFI) permission. Later, the WFI provided a physio, but unfortunately, he passed away recently after working with me for just one week. He was all of 26 years,” Bajrang said after his bout.
“Since 2013, I have kept a full-time physio with me and that’s the reason why I have remained injury-free all these years. After Tokyo, I don’t have this luxury and I am getting injured more frequently. Had a physio been with me, I wouldn’t have missed the Rome ranking series and Yasar Dogu invitation in Istanbul. My recovery from knee injuries would have been much faster. I request the TOPS and authorities to provide me with a physio at the earliest,” he added.
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